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MODERN BRIDGE 



MODERN BRIDGE 

y by c tkMm$^> 
"S L A M" 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 

AS APPROVED BY THE PORTLAND AND TURF CLUBS 

BY 

"BOAZ" 




LONGMANS, GREEN, AND CO. 

39 PATERNOSTER ROW, LONDON 
NEW YORK AND BOMBAY 
1901 



.OS 



Copyright, 1901 
By Longmans, Green, and Co. 

All rights reserved. 



THE LIBRARY Of 

CONGR4ESS, 
Two Copies Received 



JUN. 13 1901 




.ASS N». 

COPY d. 



iOPVRIOHT ENTRY 



UNIVERSITY TRESS • JOHN WILSON 
AND SON • CAMBRIDGE, U.S.A. 



CONTENTS 



Page 



Introduction vii 

Description of the Game 1 

Etiquette of Bridge . . . . « 12 

A Complete System of Instruction in the 

Game 15 

The Trump-suit Game 35 

The ' No-Trumps ' Game 71 

Hints 104 

Dummy Bridge Ill 

Double Dummy Bridge ......... 115 

The Laws of Bridge 116 

Index 147 



INTRODUCTION 



Bridge, known in Turkey as 'Britch/ may best 
be described as a variation of Dummy Whist 
although more resembling the Eussian 4 Vint ' 
perhaps, than any other game. 

It has been played in South-Eastern Europe, 
in its present form, ever since the early sixties, 
and from there travelled, firstly to France, and 
secondly to America, before being introduced into 
this country by Lord Brougham some seven years 
ago. Its popularity was soon assured, and it has, 
without doubt, already established itself as a suc- 
cessful rival of its more sedate predecessor — 
Whist. 

The reason of this is not difficult to find ; 
for, while affording quite as much scope for the 
skill of the accomplished player as Whist, Bridge 
is, to use a modern colloquialism, much the more 
sporting game of the two. 



Vlll 



MODERN BRIDGE 



The expression ' sporting/ however, must by 
no means be understood to convey the idea that 
Bridge is a gambling game. As a matter of 
fact, it is even less so than "Whist, where the 
chance holding of honours scores so much more 
heavily. 

Exception may be taken — and possibly with 
some reason as far as the actual playing of the 
hands is concerned — to the assertion that Bridge 
offers as much scope for skill as Whist. But 
the f declaration ' affords such opportunities for 
the exercise of judgment, and is such an impor- 
tant factor in the game, that taking Bridge as a 
whole, it will be found to be quite as scientific 
as Whist, while offering far more variety. 

It is this endless variation that makes it so 
difficult to lay down any hard and fast lines for 
the guidance of beginners, and it is only after 
considerable discussion with many of our most 
experienced players that the author has ven- 
tured to do so. 

Wherever illustrative hands are given it is 



INTRODUCTION ix 

most strongly recommended that the actual cards 
should be used in following them out. 

The writer has gone very fully into the game 
as played upon the principle of an opening lead 
from a short suit, when weak in trumps, and 
holding no high card sequence, in a plain suit. 
The expression ' short suit ' in this case being, 
as a general rule, understood to mean either a 
strengthening card, a singleton, or the higher of 
two cards of a suit, in which (taking into con- 
sideration the state of the score, and the position 
of the declaration) the original leader's partner 
probably holds some considerable strength. 

Such a lead of a 'short suit' has always been 
a recognised principle upon which to play Bridge, 
both upon the Continent and in America. 

When first the game was introduced into this 
country il was played upon the Whist lines of 
an opening lead from the longest or strongest 
suit, irrespective of what cards that suit con- 
tained, or what trump strength the original 
leader held. There is not a doubt, however, 



X 



MODERN BRIDGE 



that, after some years' experience, all our fore- 
most players now play upon Continental and 
American lines, and have adopted the principle 
of what, for want of a better expression, must 
be termed 'the short suit original lead/ 

Although ' Knave ' is the more generally ac- 
cepted expression in England, the writer has 
thought it advisable to adopt the American ex- 
pression 'Jack/ his principal reason being that 
he is thus enabled to designate by a single letter 
each picture card in his illustrative hands. 

The laws issued in connection with this treatise 
are published by kind permission of Messrs. Thos. 
De La Eue & Co., Ltd., and are the laws of the 
game as compiled by ' Boaz,' and adopted by the 
Portland and Turf Clubs of London. 

In conclusion, the author wishes to thank the 
many friends who have so kindly assisted him 
in compiling this volume. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 

The game may be played by two, three, or four 
players; the latter is the most usual. The gen- 
eral laws governing Bridge are practically the 
same as in Dummy Whist. 

For the four-handed game the partnerships and 
the deal are, as at Whist, settled by the cutting 
of the cards. The player who cuts the lowest 
card deals, his partner facing him at the table. 

The dealer must not turn up the last card, nor 
expose it in any way. 

As at Whist, whichever of the opposing parties 
first wins two games wins the rubber. 

The game is won with 30 points, but any 
points obtained above that number are credited 
to the score, and count towards the final total. 

The dealer, after looking at his hand, has the 

right either of declaring any suit to be trumps, 

l 



2 



MODERN BRIDGE 



of declaring ' No-Trumps ' (sans atout, the French 
expression, being often used), or of passing the 
declaration to his partner, who must then, in his 
turn, either declare a suit to be trumps, or ' No- 
Trumps.' 

Unlike Whist, the games are won by tricks 
alone (the scoring of honours will be subsequently 
explained). 

Every trick over six counts towards the game- 
score of the winners, the value of each such trick 
being determined by the trump declaration of the 
dealer or his partner. 

When ' No-Trumps ' are declared, each trick 
above six counts 12 points. 

When ' Hearts ' are declared, each trick above 
six counts 8 points. 

When ' Diamonds ' are declared, each trick above 
six counts 6 points. 

When * Clubs 9 are declared, each trick above 
six counts 4 points. 

When ' Spades 1 are declared, each trick above 
six counts 2 points. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 



3 



These values, however, are subject to alteration 
on account of doubling and redoubling. 

DOUBLING AND BEDOUBLING 

The dealer or his partner having declared a 
suit to be trumps, or ' No-Trumps/ the opponents 
have the right to double the value of the trick, 
and they may, in their turn, be redoubled by the 
original declarers, who, in their turn, may be re- 
doubled again. (Vide also Laws 53 to 58.) 

THE LEAD AND DOUBLING 

The declaration being made, the player to the 
left of the dealer has to lead, and, should he 
not wish to double, must ask his partner, " Shall 
I play ? " This is to give the latter an oppor- 
tunity of doubling, should he wish to do so, as 
he cannot double after a card has been led. 

When the doubling matter is settled, the player 
upon the left of the dealer leads, arid imme- 
diately he has done so, but not before, the dealer's 



4 



MODERN BRIDGE 



partner's hand is exposed upon the table. The 
dealer plays both hands, as at Dummy Whist. 

The only part the dealer's partner is allowed to 
take in the game is to ask the dealer (with a view 
to preventing a revoke) if he has a card of a suit 
in which he may have failed to follow, and to tell 
him from which hand to play, or lead a card. 

HONOUKS 

When a suit is declared trumps there are five 
honours, — the Ace, King, Queen, Jack, and 10, 
and their values vary according to their suit and 
their disposition in the hands. (Vide Law 6.) 

When 'No-Trumps' is declared, the four Aces 
are the honours, — their value also varying ac- 
cording to their disposition in the hands. (Vide 
Law 7.) 

CHICANE 

If either player holds no card of the trump 
suit he scores for Chicane, twice the value of the 
trump suit trick. There can be no Chicane upon 
a ' No-Trumps ' declaration. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 5 



GRAND SLAM 

When one side makes every trick they score 
40 for Grand Slam. 

LITTLE SLAM 

When one side makes every trick but one, they 
score 20 for Little Slam. 

SCORING 

Only scores made by tricks count towards the 
winning of the rubber, and, as shown in the ac- 
companying example of a scoring sheet, the trick 
scores of each side are written in the two lower 
divisions of the vertical columns, — Honours, 
Chicane, Grand Slam, and Little Slam being 
scored in the two upper divisions. 

The trick scores are started immediately under 
the double horizontal line, and are worked down- 
wards. A single horizontal line is drawn by the 
scorer upon the completion of each game. 

The scores for honours, Aces, Chicane, and 



6 MODERN BRIDGE 



TABLE OF SCORES 



TKICK SCORES. 


IN SPADES. 


IN CLUBS. 


IN 

DIAMONDS. 


IN HEARTS. 


w 

M ft 

H 
O 

to 


Each, trick above six tricks 


2 


4 


Q 


3 


12 


HONOUR SCORES. 












Three honours, no matter how 
distributed in the hands,count 


A 

4 


O 

o 


1 9 


ID 


30* 


Four honours distributed be- 
tween the two hands count . 


8 


16 


24 


32 


40* 


Five honours, when three are 
held in one hand, and two in 
partner's hand, count . . . 


10 


20 


30 


40 




Four honours, held in one hand, 


16 


32 


48 


64 


100* 


Four honours in one hand, and 
one in partner's hand (five in 


18 


36 


54 


72 




Five honours in one hand count 


20 


40 


60 


80 






4 


8 


12 


16 





Little Slam counts 20. Grand Slam counts 40. 



* When there are no trumps the aces are the honours. 



DESCRIPTION OP THE GAME 7 

EXAMPLE OF A SCOKING- SHEET 



A&B 


Y & Z 








HON 


OURS 




40 { 








m\ 








18 


8 






20) 


100 






24 J 


12 










TRI 


CKS 




36 








8 


24 








8 






56 








218 


152 






100 








318 








152 








166 









8 



MODEKN BRIDGE 



Slams are started immediately above the double 
line, and are worked upwards. 

It is customary for the scorer to write his own 
score in the left hand, and his opponents' score 
in the right hand column. 

EXPLANATION OF SCOKING SHEET 

The explanation of the scoring of a rubber, as 
shown in the foregoing example, is as follows. 
The sheet allows for the scoring of two rubbers. 

There are four players, A, B, Y, and Z ; A and B, 
and Y and Z are partners. 

First Hand. — A deals, and declares 'Diamonds ' ; 
their trick value being six, he makes every trick 
but one, six by tricks ; holds three honours in his 
own hand, while B, his partner, holds a fourth. Y 
holds no trump. A and B therefore score 36 for 
tricks, in the lower portion of their column, imme- 
diately below the double horizontal line, while in 
the upper portion of their column, immediately 
above the double line, they score 24 for honours 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 



9 



— four times the value of the trump suit trick — 
and also 20 for Little Slam. 

Y and Z score 12 for Chicane — twice the value 
of the trump suit trick — in the upper portion of 
their column, as Y had no trump. 

Thirty points being game, A and B have ex- 
ceeded by six the number necessary for winning it, 
and a horizontal line is drawn, right across the 
two columns, showing its completion. 

Second Rand. — Y deals, and, holding four Aces 
in his own hand, declares ' No-Trumps ' ; the trick 
value in this instance being twelve, Y and Z make 
two by cards, and score 24 below the line for tricks, 
and 100 above the line for Aces. 

Third Hand. — B deals, and leaves the declara- 
tion to A, who calls ' Spades 1 ; their trick value be- 
ing two, A and B make four by cards, and score 8 
below the double line for tricks, and, as B held 
four by honours in his own hand, and A held the 
fifth, they score 18 — nine times the value of the 
trump suit trick — above the line for honours. 

Fourth Hand, — Z deals, makes two by cards in 



10 



MODERN BRIDGE 



; Clubs ' ; their trick value being four, Y and Z 
score 8 below the double line, and, having pre- 
viously scored 24 for tricks, win the second game 
with a total of 32 points. Another horizontal line 
is now drawn to indicate completion of game. Y 
and Z also score 8 above the double line for hon- 
ours — twice the value of the trump suit trick — 
as they held three of them. 

Fifth Hand. — A deals, and declares ' Hearts ' ; 
their trick value being eight, A and B make every 
trick. They are therefore seven by tricks, and 
score seven times eight = 56, below the line, win- 
ning their second game and the rubber. 

They also score 16 (twice the value of the trump 
suit trick) above the line for honours, as they held 
three of them, and 40 for Grand Slam. 

The two columns are now added up from end to 
end. A and B are credited with a further 100 
points for winning the rubber; and from their 
grand total of 318, Y and Z's score of 152 points is 
deducted, leaving a balance of 166 points in favour 
of A and B. 



DESCRIPTION OF THE GAME 



11 



POINTS 

The total of the foregoing rubber is 166 points, 
and this may be considered an average amount. 

For simplicity of calculation, and for comparison 
with Whist, a rate per ten points is recommended. 

At the rate of one shilling for ten points the 
amount of the foregoing rubber is seventeen shil- 
lings (fractions over .5 being counted as 1 and 
fractions under .5 being disregarded). This is 
approximately the same as half-crown points at 
Whist, for although the average rubber of Whist 
is only 12s. 6d. at 2s. 6d. points, the rubber of 
Bridge, taking considerably longer time than the 
rubber of Whist, should necessarily average a 
greater amount. The statement that 2s. 6d. points 
at Whist and Is. for ten points at Bridge are 
approximately the same, means that in the same 
time the same amount of money will change 
hands. 



ETIQUETTE OF BRIDGE 



The one weak point about Bridge is the difficulty 
often experienced to avoid giving your partner any 
information as to your hand, otherwise than by 
correct play, or by doubling. 

A player who deliberately takes advantage of 
this weakness is not a fit person to play Bridge, 
and should be rigorously ostracised. 

The laws of the game have been most thought- 
fully and carefully drawn up, and practically meet 
all reasonable requirements ; while to have at- 
tempted to provide against every possible trans- 
gression of the unscrupulous would have been an 
insult to the general body of players. 

A ' declaration ' should be made or passed within 
reasonable time, whether holding a doubtful hand 
or not. Unnecessary delay conveys the idea of 
holding a hand that one would be almost justified 



ETIQUETTE OF BRIDGE 



13 



in declaring upon ; while hurry in passing the call 
must convey the idea of holding a poor hand. 

The position is often difficult, and is best met by 
making a practice of always taking the same 
amount of time whether 'declaring' or 'passing.' 

The simple forms " I make Hearts trumps," or 
" I leave the call to you, Partner," should be strictly 
adhered to. 

The player upon the left of the dealer should 
avoid hesitation when doubtful about doubling, 
for, if he does not eventually double, he has still 
imparted to his partner the information of his 
holding a strong hand. 

A player, having looked at his hand, has no right 
to call his partners attention to the state of the 
score. 

It is unfair for the dealer to intentionally lead 
from the wrong hand. 

It is unfair to revoke intentionally, or to make a 
second revoke in order to conceal a first. 

When players are in doubt as to a question of 
fact in the playing of a game, no objection should 



14 



MODERN BRIDGE 



be raised to abiding by the decision of a bystander 
who may be in a position to decide the point. 

As the actual law stands at present, there is no 
limit beyond which the value of a trick may not 
be raised by process of doubling. Custom, how- 
ever, has fixed this limit at one hundred points. 
e. g. — The dealer's side declare ' Hearts,' and 
their trick value is doubled up to sixty-four points 
by their opponents. The dealer's side may now 
raise the trick value to one hundred points, at 
which it must remain. 



A COMPLETE SYSTEM OF INSTRUC- 
TION IN THE GAME 



PLAYING TO THE SCORE. 

Playing to the score cannot be too strongly 
insisted upon. It is the key to success at the 
game. Call to the score, — Pass to the score, — 
Double to the score, — and, above all, when the 
position is doubtful, make the trick that wins or 
saves the game, upon the first opportunity. 

THE DECLARATION 

The dealer, having looked at his hand, has 
either to declare a suit to be trumps, to declare 
' No-Trumps,' or pass the declaration to his part- 
ner ; and success at the game depends, to a very 
great extent, upon the good judgment exercised in 
making, or passing, such declaration. 

The main idea of the dealer, and his partner, 



16 



MODERN BRIDGE 



should be to make game, even from love, upon 
their deal, and they are justified in running a 
certain amount of risk in order to achieve this 
end. It is not worth their while, however, to run 
any risk with a view to adding a few points to 
their score. 

The successful player at Bridge will not hesitate 
to take a risk when the end attempted is worth 
attaining, to make or save a game, for instance. 
He will, however, run no risks for the sake of any 
paltry gain, such as making Clubs trumps at four 
a trick, instead of Spades at two a trick, both 
suits being of about equal strength in a weak 
hand. This is a very common fault among poor 
players, who will often try to add to their own 
score, when their hands are so weak that their 
efforts should be directed towards losing as few 
points as possible upon their deal. 

The 'No-Trumps 9 Declaration 

1. When holding four Aces, a declaration of 
' No-Trumps ' is almost invariably correct, for, 



THE DECLARATION" 



17 



in addition to the great strength they afford 
the playing hand, they score one hundred as 
honours. 

2. When holding three Aces, and no suit strong 
enough to declare trumps, with a nearly certain 
prospect of making game, then ' No-Trumps ' is 
almost invariably the correct call for the dealer 
or his partner. But it is well to bear in mind 
that an Ace single, or even once guarded, is not 
great strength in a suit. For, if that suit is your 
opponents', you have so early to part with the 
command of it ; while, if it is your partner's suit, 
you can either never put him in with it at all, or 
only once, which may not be sufficient to estab- 
lish it. 

3. Two Aces, a King, and Queen to five, or even 
four cards, of a third suit, is sufficient strength to 
justify a declaration of i No-Trumps ' by either the 
dealer or his partner. 

But again it must be borne in mind that, in 
case of having no strong suit of your own, you 
want to be in a position to put your partner in 

2 



18 



MODERN BRIDGE 



with his suit, whatever it may be^ should he 
happen to have one. 

4. When holding an Ace, and three Kings, all 
fairly guarded, a declaration of ' No-Trumps ' is 
justified from either hand. 

5. When holding Ace, King, Queen, to five or 
more Diamonds, Clubs, or Spades, and another 
Ace, a declaration of ' No-Trumps ' is quite justifi- 
able on the part of the dealer. With Ace, King, 
Queen, to five or more Hearts, however, 'Hearts' 
should certainly be declared. (Vide Heart De- 
claration, p. 21.) 

A player might hesitate to declare ' No-Trumps/ 
upon a left call, with such a hand as the above, 
unless either his long suit, or his other Ace, is a 
red one. 

6. One Ace, and two King, Queen suits, all 
fairly guarded, with but little else in the hand, 
justifies a call of 'No-Trumps.' 

7. ' No-Trumps ' may reasonably be declared 
from a hand strong all round, even although it 
contains no Ace. Holding King, Jack, and an- 



THE DECLARATION 



19 



other in each suit, for instance, a 'No-Trumps' 
declaration would certainly be justifiable, by either 
the dealer or his partner, notwithstanding the 
possibility of finding four Aces in one hand 
against the call. 

The foregoing seven examples of the 'No- 
Trumps' declaration apply, principally, to the 
case of the dealer's score being at love. When 
near the end of the game, it may frequently be 
more advisable to make a suit trumps. Keniem- 
ber to declare to make game. Don't miss a good 
chance of making game, for the possible chance 
of a great score. On the other hand, should your 
opponents be near game, say 18 or more up, 
having already one game to their credit, then a 
* No-Trumps' declaration, even upon a weaker 
hand than any of the foregoing, is quite justifiable 
on the part of either the dealer or his partner, if 
there is a reasonable probability of their making 
game. 

It is a great mistake, however, although a com- 
mon one, for a player to declare a very risky 



20 



MODERN BRIDGE 



'No-Trumps/ because his opponents have a high 
score to their credit in the first game of the 
rubber. With poor hands, the efforts of the 
dealer's side should then be directed towards pre- 
venting their opponents making game on that 
deal, and consequently rendering it impossible for 
them to win the rubber on their next call. 

"When the dealer passes the declaration, his 
partner will have the more justification for a call 
of 'No-Trumps,' upon only a moderately strong 
hand, should what strength he holds be in the red 
suits. With his score at love the dealer may well 
have great strength in both black suits and pass the 
call, but he cannot hold great strength in Hearts, 
nor very great strength in Diamonds, and do so. 

Upon a passed call, with no prospect of making 
game upon a trump-suit declaration, ' No-Trumps ' 
should be declared when holding such a hand as 
Ace, King, and another Heart; Ace, King, and 
another Diamond ; and such protection as three 
cards to a Queen, or four cards to a Jack, or even 
to a 10, in one of the black suits. 



THE DECLARATION 



21 



The Heart Declaration 

The dealer, when considering a trump suit 
declaration, may reasonably calculate upon his 
partner's hand winning three tricks. It is then 
quite a mistake to be further guided solely by the 
number of certain tricks his own hand contains. 

Holding Ace, King, and three small Hearts, or 
King, Queen, Jack, and two small Hearts (in each 
case a suit of five cards in all) with not even one 
honour in any other suit, the dealer should (in 
default of any better call to the score) declare 
1 Hearts/ although his hand contains only two 
absolutely certain tricks. Such a powerful trump 
suit as one of five cards to the Ace, and King, or 
five cards to the King, Queen, and Jack, however, 
may reasonably be calculated upon to make good 
any strength his partner holds, and should he find 
him with a strong plain suit, the chances are in 
favour of his being in a position to establish it 
and bring it in. 

But should the dealer, or his partner, while 



22 



MODERN BRIDGE 



holding Ace and King to five Hearts, or King, 
Queen, and Jack to five Hearts, and no other high 
cards, also hold six low cards of any other suit, 
one or two tricks in which will make game, either 
should then declare the suit of six low cards to be 
trumps, and so raise their value, and, at the same 
time, raise the trick-making capacity of the hand 
as a whole. 

e. g. — With their game score at 26, the dealer 
or his partner, in case of the call being passed to 
him, should undoubtedly declare ' Clubs/ and not 
' Hearts ' when holding — 

Hearts, A., K., 7, 5, 3. 
Diamonds, 8. 

Clubs, 9, 7, 6, 5, 3, 2. 
Spades, 4. 

The Hearts should make tricks, and be easily es- 
tablished as a plain suit, while such is not the case 
with the Clubs. On the other hand, if Clubs are 
declared trumps, the length of the suit must give 
considerable value to the hand. 



THE DECLARATION 



23 



Holding any seven Hearts, or any six Hearts 
that include an honour, with not even a picture 
card in another suit, ' Hearts ' should (in default 
of any better call to the score) be declared by 
either the dealer or his partner. 

In this instance the great length of the suit con- 
stitutes its strength. While, with six low Hearts, 
no other six-card suit, and no high cards, the hand 
is practically valueless unless Hearts are trumps ; 
so, in order to give the hand a value, and apart 
from any other consideration, the suit should be 
declared. 

But again, should the dealer or his partner hold, 
in addition to the six low valued Hearts, six cards 
of any other suit, one trick in which will make 
game, then the lower valued suit should be de- 
clared, in order not to run the possible risk of the 
opponents' making a high score upon a Heart 
declaration. 

e. g. — With their game score at 28, the dealer, 
or his partner should declare * Spades ' and not 
'Hearts ' when holding — 



24 



MODERN BRIDGE 



Hearts, J., 9, 8, 6, 4, 3. 
Diamonds, 9. 

Spades, 10, 8, 7, 5, 4, 2. 

Having no better declaration to the score, the dealer, 
or his partner, upon the call being passed to 
him, should declare ' Hearts 9 — 

1. When holding any seven Hearts. 

2. When holding any six Hearts that include an 
honour. 

3. When holding Ace and King to five Hearts, 
or King, Queen, and J ack to five Hearts. 

4. When holding four honours in his own hand. 

5. When holding (a) Ace to five Hearts ; (b) 
King and Queen to five Hearts; (c) Queen, Jack, 
and 10 to five Hearts; (d) King and Jack to five 
Hearts, and in addition in each case, one highly 
probable trick outside the trump suit. 

6. When holding (a) Ace and King to four 
Hearts ; (b) Ace, Queen, and Jack to four Hearts ; 
(c) five Hearts to an honour, and in addition, in 



THE DECLAKATION 



25 



each case, two highly probable tricks outside the 
trumps. 

It may be well to explain what is meant by a 
highly probable trick. An Ace, or King and Queen, 
or two guarded Kings, or such strength as even 
two guarded Queens, or Queen, Jack, 10, and one 
other, of a plain suit, should be considered as one 
highly probable trick. 

With increased strength in plain suits a Heart 
declaration may be justified upon even a weaker 
trump suit than any of those above enumerated. 
A plain suit of high cards in sequence affords great 
support to a trump suit declaration. 

When one, or possibly two, tricks in Hearts will 
make him game, the dealer's partner, upon the call 
being passed to him, should often declare 'Hearts' 
upon but moderate strength, if he holds some con- 
siderable strength in other suits. This is especially 
the case when the opponents are well advanced 
towards winning the rubber. 

e. g. — Should the opponents be one game up, and 
18 in the second game, the dealer's side being 22 



26 MODEKN BRIDGE 

up, the dealer's partner, upon the declaration being 
passed to him, should declare 'Hearts ' with such a 
hand as — 

Hearts, A., 10, 9, 8. 
Diamonds, K., 4, 3. 
Clubs, Q-,J-> 10. 
Spades, J,, 10, 4. 

Such a passed declaration as the foregoing, upon 
such moderate trump strength, applies, under sim- 
ilar conditions, to any suit, when one, or perhaps 
even two tricks in that suit will make game for 
the declaring side. 

The weak player will often declare ' No-Trumps ; 
at some considerable risk, when he has an equally 
good chance of making game, with practically no 
risk, upon a Heart, or even a Diamond declaration. 
This is a mistake to be carefully avoided. 

Holding — 

Hearts, A., K., Q., 9, 4. 
Diamonds, 10. 
Clubs, A., K., 8, 5. 
Spades, A., K., 3. 



THE DECLARATION 



27 



'Hearts' should be declared, upon such a hand, 
at any stage of the game ; the risk of finding a very 
strong Diamond suit against a ■ No-Trumps ' decla- 
ration should not be incurred. 

The Diamond Declaration 

With their score at love, the most successful 
Bridge players are not much given, as dealers, to 
a Diamond declaration, unless they are either ex- 
ceedingly strong in the suit, hold four by honours, 
or consider it advisable to declare the suit as pro- 
tection, their hands being such as to be of little 
value in case of a ' No-Trumps ' or ' Hearts ' decla- 
ration by their partner. 

Holding some protection in Hearts, and such 
high Diamonds as will probably make tricks upon 
either a ' No-Trumps ' or e Hearts ' call, but with- 
out being exceedingly strong in the suit, the dealer 
will generally find it advantageous to pass, giving 
his partner the opportunity of a higher valued de- 
claration. Three tricks in ' No-Trumps' or four 
tricks in ' Hearts ' are far more easily made than 



28 MODERN BRIDGE 

five tricks — the number necessary for game from 
love — in ' Diamonds/ Then, too. if the dealer is 
known not to be inclined to an original declaration 
of ' Diamonds/ his partner is the more likely to 
declare 'No-Trumps/ although weak himself in 
the Diamond suit. 

The dealer, seeing and playing two hands, is at 
a great advantage, and that advantage must be 
made the most of, by getting, if possible, the high- 
est valued declaration the combined strength of 
the two hands justifies. 

With his score at love, the dealer should often 
pass, when holding such a suit of Diamonds as 
he should declare upon if that suit were Hearts. 
But with a really strong hand of Diamonds, and 
such Hearts as to make it improbable, or unde- 
sirable, that his partner could, or should, declare 
' Hearts/ and such other cards as to preclude the 
probability or desirability of a ' No-Trumps 9 de- 
claration from his partner, then the dealer had 
better declare c Diamonds ' from his own hand, 
even with the score at love. 



THE DECLARATION 



29 



If the dealer, in addition to his Diamond suit, 
holds considerable strength in Hearts, it is im- 
probable that his partner can declare 'Hearts.' 
While, if the dealer holds little or nothing in 
Hearts, it is undesirable that his partner should 
declare ' Hearts.' 

Again, with a long suit of Diamonds not headed 
by a sequence of very high cards, and with no 
high cards in the other suits it is undesirable 
that the dealer's partner should declare ' No- 
Trumps.' While if, in addition to such a suit 
of Diamonds, the dealer holds two Aces, it is 
very improbable that his partner can declare 
' No-Trumps.' 

The fact of being six up in the game, may be 
sufficient to justify the dealer in declaring ' Dia- 
monds,' four by cards — w^hich would then mean 
game — being so much more easily made than five. 

It is most difficult to lay down any hard and 
fast lines as to when the dealer should call ' Dia- 
monds ' with his score at love, but having no bet- 
ter declaration he will be justified in doing so. 



30 



MODERN BRIDGE 



1. When holding four by honours in his own 
hand. 

2. When holding any seven Diamonds, or any 
six Diamonds, including an honour, irrespective 
of their size. With high cards in the suit they 
should be declared for their strength, and with a 
suit of low cards, in many cases, for protection, 
for the hand may be such as to be practically 
valueless, unless Diamonds are trumps. 

The Club Declaration 

The dealer must not declare ' Clubs/ except per- 
haps as protection, unless the state of the score 
gives him a very good chance of making game. 

When holding six or more small Clubs that 
are in all probability valueless, unless Clubs are 
trumps, and not another trick in his hand, it may 
be policy for the dealer, even with his score at 
love, to declare the suit, and to be prepared for 
trouble should he find his partner with an ex- 
ceptionally strong hand. 

The dealer will of course be the more justified 



THE DECLARATION 



31 



in a Club call as protection, should he have 
doubts as to the general soundness of his part- 
ner's declarations. But should the opponents be 
near the end of the rubber, he had better take 
the chance of his partner holding a very strong 
hand. 

When holding high cards in a black suit, some 
or all of which should make tricks upon another 
declaration, the writer, as dealer, would pass the 
call, unless he had from the state of his score, a 
good chance of making game by declaring the 
suit. It must be admitted, however, that even 
with their score at love, some players, whose 
ability at the game is beyond dispute, declare 
1 Clubs/ as dealers, from great strength in high 
cards in the suit. 

The Spade Declaration 

The advisability of a Spade declaration on the 
part of the dealer is governed by similar consider- 
ations to those which apply to Clubs, and it is 
only upon exceedingly rare occasions that he is 



32 



MODERN BRIDGE 



justified in declaring the suit, unless the state 
of the score gives him a very good chance of 
making game. 

Should the dealer, however, hold an absolutely 
worthless hand, that cannot win a trick, unless 
perhaps Spades are trumps, he should, at the be- 
ginning of the second game, if he has already won 
the first game, certainly declare ' Spades/ He 
should not run the risk of a ' No-Trump ' or red- 
suit declaration, of but average strength, by his 
partner, and of the possibility of his opponents 
thus making the score game all. 

The foregoing is an instance that admits of no 
doubt, but others might be cited in which a pro- 
tective ' Spades ' declaration on the part of the 
dealer is quite justifiable. It must be admitted, 
however, that the proceeding necessitates the ex- 
ercise of a considerable amount of moral courage. 

Should the opponents be a game up, and far 
advanced towards the end of their second game, 
the dealer should not make a protective 'Spades' 
declaration, but should take the chance of his 



THE DECLARATION 



33 



partner holding an exceptionally strong hand. 
There is but little to be gained by saving the 
game in this instance, as the opponents have the 
next deal, and the probabilities are then consider- 
ably in favour of their making game, with the 
possibility of a great score. 

Should the call be left to the non-dealer, he 
must bear in mind, when holding a weak hand, 
that ' Spades ' is, as a rule, the least risky declara- 
tion, being the lowest valued one. It may some- 
times, however, be safer to call ' Clubs ' when 
holding some considerable strength in the suit, 
and but little or nothing in Spades. Still, Clubs 
doubled mean eight a trick, while Spades doubled 
mean only four a trick. 

One great failing of the weak player is his per- 
sistence in trying to score upon a poor hand. It 
must be borne in mind that ' Spades 1 is the weak 
hand's proper refuge, and should be declared, in 
some instances, even without one of the suit be- 
ing held. e. g. — Upon a left call, with five small 

Hearts, four Diamonds, and four Clubs of no 

3 



34 



MODERN BRIDGE 



great strength, c Spades ' should generally be de- 
clared, although the hand does not contain one. 
Should, however, the opponents be dangerously 
near the end of the rubber, while one or two 
tricks in Hearts would put the dealer's side out, 
the non-dealer might take the risk of declaring 
' Hearts/ upon his five small ones, as the best 
chance of saving the situation. 



THE TRUMP-SUIT GAME 

The trump-suit game being, to a great extent, 
so distinct from the ' No-Trumps ' game, the writer 
has treated the two games separately, and, as 
being the more similar to Whist, has dealt with 
the former, in the first instance. Great care must 
be observed, by the beginner, not to confound the 
advice given in the two cases, for what applies to 
the one may be utterly wrong if applied to 
the other. 

DOUBLING 

Experienced players are not much given to 
doubling the declaration of another player of 
recognised ability, except under such conditions 
as are enumerated later. The proceeding, how- 
ever, seems to possess marvellous allurements for 
the novice, whom the writer would advise to 
exercise considerable restraint in this direction. 

The would-be doubler should realise the possi- 



36 



MODERN BRIDGE 



bility of being redoubled, and of his partner not 
holding a single trick. It must be borne in mind 
too, that the player who doubles informs his 
opponent, as well as his partner, of his strength. 
With a score at love all, it is not good policy to 
double a high-valued declaration, unless you are 
fairly sure of winning six tricks upon your own 
hand. 

One of the best classes of hands upon which to 
double is that which contains, in addition to a 
long trump suit, another long suit headed by high 
cards in sequence, for in this instance the player 
who doubles, is not put to the difficulty of trying 
to find strength in his partner's hand. 

The Spade call is much more frequently doubled 
than any other, often without sufficient considera- 
tion; the doubler perhaps having little strength 
himself in Spades, but with fairly good cards in 
the other suits, — his justification being, when re- 
doubling and grievous disaster possibly follows, " I 
thought the call was from a weak all-round hand, 
and never imagined he had such a strong suit in 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



37 



Spades." That Spades redoubled are of equal 
value to Hearts should always be borne in mind, 
and very rash doubling, without any strength in 
the suit, avoided. 

The most advantageous position for doubling is 
that of third player, when a suit has been declared 
by Dummy, who is often compelled to make a 
declaration upon considerably less strength than 
would be considered necessary for an original call, 
while of course, being over the declarer greatly 
strengthens the doubler's position. 

When one trick is sufficient to win the game for 
the dealer, the opponents should double with but 
moderate strength. The risk of losing a few more 
points should not be taken into consideration, as 
long as there is reasonable chance of making game 
or advancing their score. 

It is right also to double upon moderate 
strength, if the odd trick will then make the 
doubler game, provided he is so strong as to be 
almost certain that in case of being redoubled his 
opponents cannot get out. 



38 



MODERN BRIDGE 



THE OBIGINAL LEAD 

What to lead as an original or opening lead of 
a hand, is one of the most debated points of the 
game. With considerable strength in trumps and 
plain suits combined the leader should generally 
open his strongest suit as at Whist. 

Holding Ace, and King of a plain suit it is 
usually advisable to lead the King, in order to see 
what is exposed in Dummy. With such a 
sequence as King, Queen, Jack, or Queen, Jack, 10, 
it is nearly always advisable to open it. 

Holding a fairly strong trump hand, or a se- 
quence of high cards, the original leader has but 
little difficulty in deciding what to open, but the 
position is not such a simple one when holding no 
high card sequence, and only one, two, three, or 
possibly even four small trumps. 

From what they had been taught at Whist, 
players are so imbued with the idea that the 
opening lead of a hand should be from their 
strongest suit, that it is difficult for them to 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



39 



realise that any deviation from this course can 
possibly be right at Bridge. 

On the Continent, and in America, however, an 
opening lead from a short suit has always been a 
recognised principle of the game, when holding 
only one, two, three, or possibly even four small 
trumps, and no high card sequence, and there is 
not the slightest doubt that the most successful 
Bridge players in this country now play upon 
Continental and American lines, and that their 
numbers are rapidly increasing. 

The reason for leading the long suit at Whist 
was, to a very great extent, in the hope that it 
might eventually be established, and the leader 
enabled to make the long cards in the suit. But 
the position is quite different at Bridge. The 
long trump you know (except in the case of a 
passed * Spades ' declaration) is nearly always 
against you, so that, unless you have considerable 
trump strength in your own hand, it is useless to 
try and establish a long suit, on the remote 
chance (unless he has doubled) that your partner 



40 



MODERN BRIDGE 



holds sufficient strength in trumps to enable you 
to do so. 

One of our admittedly best English players 
writes : — 

"In many instances, when a suit is declared in 
which three or four tricks are required by the 
adversaries to make game, the making of one trick 
by trumping often saves the game. It should be 
remembered, too, that in most cases the original 
leader is playing against declared trump strength, 
and the lead from numerical strength such as five 
to a King, or five to a Queen is not likely, as at 
Whist (when trumps are made by chance, and not 
from choice), to be advantageous. In fact, unless 
the leader or his partner has considerable strength 
in trumps, a long weak suit is seldom brought in. 

" It seems to me preferable to attempt rather to 
save the game in an original lead than to try to 
make a good score. Thus, unless the original 
leader holds Ace, King, etc., King, Queen, Knave, 
etc., or Queen, Knave, 10, he is more likely to 
save a trick by leading a short suit than to make 
a good score by playing as at Whist. At Whist you 
play to make the odd trick or more. At Bridge, 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



41 



with the probability of strength being against you, 
, you play, or ought to play, primarily to save the 
game." 

No matter what your strong suit may be, you 
do not want to open it, unless it is a sequence 
of high cards, before seeing Dummy. You do not 
want to lead from an Ace, Queen suit, to find the 
King on your right, nor from a King, Jack, 10, 
suit up to the Ace and Queen in your opponents' 
hands. 

Then, are you to lead the King from a suit of 
King, Queen to three or four, to possibly find the 
Ace on your right, and that if you had waited, 
you might have made both your King and Queen ? 
Holding a suit of five or more cards, however, 
headed by King, Queen, the King should be led 
as an original lead although weak in trumps, as 
you cannot count upon more than one trick in 
the suit, unless your partner holds the Ace. 

Again, to lead the Ace from a suit of five cards, 
may give your opponent an early opportunity of 
ruffing with his weak trump hand, or perhaps 



42 



MODERN BRIDGE 



clear the suit for him. The King may be on 
your right, and Dummy may hold no strength in 
the suit, so that if you wait for your partner to 
lead that suit, your opponents' King, although 
guarded, may never make. 

When holding only one, two, three, or possibly 
even four small trumps, and no high card se- 
quence, a lead of a ' short suit ' will often be found 
the best means of surmounting the difficulty of 
leading blindly through a hand, that is exposed, 
immediately after you have led. 

The expression 'short suit lead/ in its appli- 
cation here, must, as a general rule, be understood 
to mean either a strengthening card, a singleton, 
or the higher of two cards of a suit, in which 
(taking into consideration the state of the score, 
and the position of the declaration) the original 
leader's partner probably holds some considerable 
strength. 

The state of the score, and the position of the 
declaration, will generally be found to afford the 
original leader most valuable information as to 



THE TKUMP-SUiT GAME 



43 



what short suit he may lead with a probability of 
success. This point is of the utmost importance, 
and must be properly appreciated. 

e. g. — Should the dealer's score be at 24, and 
he pass the declaration to his partner, who de- 
clares 'Clubs/ the original leader knows the 
dealer cannot hold much strength in Hearts, or 
Diamonds, or, as one trick in either would give 
him game, he must have declared one suit or 
the other. The original leader, therefore, cannot 
go far wrong in leading a short Heart, or Diamond 
suit. 

Again, should the dealer's score be at 26, and 
he pass that declaration to his partner, who calls 
either ' Hearts/ ' Diamonds/ or 1 Spades/ the origi- 
nal leader then should not hesitate to lead a short 
Club suit, as that cannot be the dealer's strong 
suit, otherwise he must have declared it, for one 
trick would make him game. 

Again, on a passed Diamond call, no matter 
what the position of the score, the original leader 
should lead a Heart (especially as he has such a 



44 



MODERN BRIDGE 



strengthening card as the 10), Hearts being prob- 
ably his partner's suit, when holding such a 
hand as : — 

Hearts, 10, 4. 
Diamonds, 8, 5, 2 (trumps). 
Clubs, A., Q., 9, 7. 
Spades, Q., 8, 4, 3, 

and thus avoid leading up to the dealer (whose 
strength, if he has any at all, probably lies in the 
black suits, as he passed the declaration) from his 
tenace in Clubs, and from his Queen of Spades. 

But on the other hand, in case of a passed call, 
when the state of the score offers no inducement 
to the dealer to declare a black suit, the original 
leader may reasonably hesitate before playing a 
short Club, or Spade suit, unless perhaps he holds 
a singleton, or some such strengthening card, or 
cards, as will be of assistance to his partner, 
should he hold any strength at all in the suit. 

An original lead of a strengthening card 
of a suit in which (taking into consideration 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



45 



the state of the score and the position of the 
declaration) your partner probably holds some 
strength, is of course preferable to leading a 
practically valueless card of such a suit, princi- 
pally with the object of ruffing. Still, an original 
lead of the higher of any two cards, of what is 
probably your partner's suit, is quite justifiable 
when holding at least two trumps, and is generally 
preferable to opening such a suit as one headed 
by Ace, Queen, or King, Jack, and the more so 
should there be a probability of the latter being 
the dealer's suit. 

With only one trump it is never advisable to 
lead a two-card suit with the sole object of ruffing, 
but with a plain suit singleton, and a single trump, 
a lead for the ruff is quite justifiable. 

Bearing in mind the two foregoing paragraphs, 
your partner knows that if he wins the first trick 
of your original ' short-suit ' lead, and returns the 
suit at once, you can either ruff it immediately, or 
that you have at least two trumps, and can there- 
fore ruff the suit after one round of trumps has 



46 



MODERN BRIDGE 



been taken out, at any rate, having originally held 
two of your short suit, and at least two trumps. 

If, when not leading a recognised high card 
lead, or a ' short suit,' you make a practice of lead- 
ing your fourth-best (vide 6 The Lead of the Fourth- 
best' p. 62), your partner, having seen his own 
and Dummy's hand, can then nearly always tell 
whether you are leading from a short, or a long 
suit, and the advisability of parting with the com- 
mand of that suit, should he hold it, must be left 
to his discretion. Should the card led clear your 
partner's suit, or leave him, if he lets it pass, with 
a tenace over Dummy, it is generally inadvisable 
for him to win the trick, even although in a posi- 
tion to do so. 

This is a point that weak players seem quite 
unable to appreciate. They appear to think that, 
as their partner led a short suit, he wants a ruff, 
and that it is their duty to try and give it him at 
all costs, utterly regardless of the fact that his 
original lead may have already done all that 
was necessary towards establishing the suit. Of 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



47 



course, considerations as to the number of cards 
exposed in the suit, and the state of the score, 
must decide the third player whether it may, or 
may not, be advisable for him to make sure of 
winning one trick, at any rate, in the suit, if 
possible. 

A lead of the King, from King, Queen, only, in 
a plain suit, is always advisable as an original 
lead when weak in trumps. But with King once 
guarded only, the suit should generally not be 
opened. 

By leading a ' short suit/ when weak in trumps, 
and holding no high card sequence in a plain suit, 
the original leader is acting upon the defensive, 
such a lead often being the one least calculated to 
do harm, while awaiting the exposure of Dummy. 

The original leader's partner, upon getting in, is 
in a position to lead up to Dummy's then exposed 
weakness, that being the direction in which the 
original leader's strength probably lies {vide ' Ke- 
turn of the Original Lead/ Trump-suit game, p. 54). 



48 



MODERN BRIDGE 



The advantage of leading a * short suit ' as an orig- 
inal lead, vjhen weak in trumps and holding 
no high card sequence is: — 

Firstly. It gives the original leader the best 
chance of making tricks with his small trumps, 
which are worthless except for the purpose of 
ruffing. 

Secondly. It is frequently the most economical 
method of obtaining the full advantage of the 
exposure of Dummy, being often the only alter- 
native to a lead from such a suit as one headed 
by Ace, Queen ; King, Jack, etc. This is a most 
important point. Unless holding very consider- 
able trump strength, the original leader should 
avoid, when practicable, an original lead from a 
possible tenace, or what may ultimately develop 
into a tenace. 

The Disadvantage of the ' Short-suit ' Lead 

The disadvantage of leading a short suit is, that 
there may be great strength in one of the oppo- 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



49 



nents' hands in that suit, and that after the first 
round it may be established for them. The dealer 
may then be in a position to draw the trumps, and 
subsequently get discards (on the winning cards 
of the suit thus established for him) in the other 
suits, where the original leader, or his partner, 
possibly hold winning cards, which consequently 
they may be unable to make. If judgment, how- 
ever, be exercised in the selection of the suit, the 
above misfortune will seldom occur, and the pos- 
sibility of its occurrence is not sufficient to coun- 
terbalance the many advantages of the ' short suit ' 
lead (under the conditions above enumerated) 
previous to the exposure of Dummy. 

Leading from Strength although weak in 
Trumps 

Although weak in trumps, the original leader, 

having no advisable high card sequence, or ' short 

suit ' lead, has, in a great many instances, to lead 

from a high card. 

When placed in this position leading from an 
4 



50 MODERN BRIDGE 

Ace to four, or even three cards, is preferable to 
leading from any other high card. 
e. g. ■ — Holding — 



Hearts, A., 8, 5. 

Diamonds, 9, 6 (trumps, declared by dealer). 
Clubs, K., Q., 9, 7. 
Spades, Q., 8., 5, 3. 



The 5 of Hearts should be led as an original 
lead. This is less calculated to do harm than 
leading either the King of Clubs, or from the 
Queen of Spades. 

There is the further reason for leading from the 
Ace in this instance, inasmuch as it is the Ace of 
Hearts, the probability being that the dealer, hav- 
ing declared ( Diamonds ' is not very strong in 
Hearts. 

Should the Ace of Clubs be held by the dealer, 
or even if held by Dummy, the original leader has 
a very good chance of making two tricks in the 
suit, provided he does not open it. He has also 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



51 



a much better chance of making the Queen of 
Spades by not opening the suit himself. 

The original leader's partner must again bear 
in mind that the original lead is so frequently a 
defensive one, and that the original leader prob- 
ably holds some strength in those suits in which 
Dummy is weakest. 

Leading a Trump through the Declaring 
Hand 

With such a hand as the foregoing, in case of 
the declaration of ' Diamonds ' being made by 
Dummy, instead of by the dealer, the original 
leader should lead the 9 of Diamonds (trumps), 
through the declaring hand, as an original lead. 
This should convey the information of his being 
strong in plain suits, and should therefore be an 
inducement to his partner to continue to lead 
trumps, provided his hand admits of his do- 
ing so. 



52 



MODERN BRIDGE 



When holding Strength in Trumps 

When holding trumps that will win tricks 
upon trump leads, there is no object in leading 
a short suit for the sole purpose of ruffing, as 
there is nothing to be gained by ruffing with 
such trumps. 

The original leader, when strong in trumps, is, 
of course, in a far better position should the de- 
claration be made by the dealer than if made by 
Dummy. But with such trumps as three to the 
King, or, as a rule, any four trumps, the original 
leader should generally lead his strongest suit 
(unless perhaps it is a very poor one, or con- 
tains a possible tenace), no matter what the 
position of the declaration ; for, although the rest 
of the original leader's suit may be badly placed 
for him, he holds high cards, or length in it, and 
some trump strength to support it. 

When his strongest suit contains no high cards, 
however, it might still be advisable for the original 
leader, although fairly strong in trumps, to lead 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



53 



a strengthening card from a two, or even three 
card suit, when the trump declaration suggests 
the probability of the dealer being weak in that 
suit. 

e. g. — Suppose the dealer's score is 24, and he 
passes the declaration to his partner, who declares 
6 Clubs/ the original leader holding — 

Hearts, J., 10, 5. 
Diamonds, 8, 7. 

Clubs, J., 6, 4, 3 (trumps). 

Spades, 10, 9, 6, 2. 

The Spade suit is too poor to open, especially as 
the dealer may well hold considerable strength in 
the suit. The original leader's partner probably 
holds considerable strength both in Diamonds 
and Hearts, otherwise the opponents must 
have declared a red suit, as the odd trick in 
either Diamonds or Hearts would make them 
game. 

Holding four trumps, the original leader is not 
anxious to be forced, so had better not open his 



54 



MODERN BRIDGE 



two-card Diamond suit, but rather lead his Jack 
of Hearts, which should be a valuable card in 
establishing his partner's suit 

Holding the Ace or King, and one or two small 
trumps only, in a weak hand, with no strong plain 
suit to establish, an original lead of a ' short suit/ 
in order to ruff with the small trumps, will gen- 
erally prove most advantageous. 

EETUEN OF THE OKIGINAL LEAD. 

It is often a very difficult matter for the third 
player, having won the first trick of his partner's 
original plain suit lead, to decide whether to re- 
turn the suit at once, to lead up to weakness in 
Dummy, or to play his own suit. He must judge 
for himself what chance his partner has (in case 
of his having presumably led a short suit) of get- 
ting his ruff, and of the advisability of trying to 
give it him. 

With pronounced weakness exposed in Dummy, 
it may be better to lead up to it at once, especially 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



55 



if he (original leader's partner) is also weak in 
that suit, for, in that case, the strength of the 
, suit must be divided between the dealer and the 
original leader, the latter, as he has not opened 
the suit, probably holding a tenace in it. 

In leading up to very great weakness exposed 
in Dummy, the original leader's partner should 
lead, when practicable, a higher card than any 
held by Dummy, so that, unless the dealer heads 
the card led, he can continue with the suit. 

Should the original leader's partner hold other 
getting in cards, he need not perhaps immediately 
lead up to Dummy's exposed weakness, as he can 
do that later, but might try to give the original 
leader a ruff, or should he hold a strong suit of 
his own, it might be advisable to open it. 

All this must be left the third player's discre- 
tion, and no hard and fast lines can be laid down 
for his guidance. But, with no weakness to lead 
up to in Dummy, and things looking desperate, a 
game may often be saved by returning the original 
lead immediately, to find that the original leader 



56 MODERN BRIDGE 

led a singleton, or that he ruffs the suit later, 
before the dealer has been able to exhaust his 
trumps. 

THE LEAD AND EETUEN OF THE LEAD 
GENEEALLY. 

When once Dummy is exposed, the general 
principle to be followed in playing against him 
is to lead up to his weakness, and through his 
strength ; but his opponents must be careful in 
playing through great strength in Dummy, as 
this may only assist in the establishment of a 
very strong suit. 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



57 



The follovnng is a table of leads from high card 



sequences : — 
Holding — 

Lead. Follow with : 

Ace, King, Queen, Jack alone or with 

others King. Jack. 

Ace, King, Queen, alone or with 

others King. Queen. 

Ace, King, and one or more .... King. 
King, Queen, Jack alone or with 

others King. Queen. 

King, 1 Queen, alone or with others . King. 
Queen, Jack, 10, alone or with others Queen. 



The following is a table of leads from suits headed 
by high cards not in sequence : — 
Holding — 

Lead. Follow with : 

Ace, Queen, and three or more . 

small cards Ace. 

Ace, Queen, and two small cards . Lowest card. 

Ace and four or more small cards . Ace. 

Ace and two or three small cards . Lowest card. 

Ace, Queen, Jack Ace. Queen. 

King, Jack, 10 Jack. 

1 This lead should be avoided, as an original lead, when 
weak in trumps, except when holding King, Queen only, or 
five or more cards of the suit. 



58 



MODERN BRIDGE 



As there is but little to be gained in showing a 
suit of five cards when playing against the trump 
declaration, in case of holding Ace, King, and 
one or more of a suit, the King should always be 
led before the Ace. When holding Ace and King 
only, however, the Ace should be first led, and 
then the King. This should inform your partner 
that you have no more of the suit. 

With Ace, King, and one or more small cards, 
having led the King to find that Dummy holds 
no strength in the suit, it is often advisable not 
to continue with the Ace, but to wait for your 
partner to return the suit, and so possibly avoid 
making good what strength the dealer may hold 
in it. 

When holding King, Queen, Jack, and more 
than one small card of a suit, the King should 
always be led, and not the Jack as at Whist, as it 
is of much more importance for the leader's part- 
ner to kncnv the original leader holds the Ace or 
Queen of the suit, in addition to the King led, 
than to be in considerable doubt as to what he 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



59 



holds if he leads the Jack, as, even if the dealer 
wins with the Ace, he, being at liberty to play 
false cards with impunity, may still hold both 
King and Queen, as far as the leader's partner can 
tell. With the trump declaration against the 
leader, there is but little to be gained, in this in- 
stance, by showing a suit of five or more cards. 

When weak in trumps avoid leading from a 
suit headed by Ace, Queen, Jack, but if compelled 
to do so, lead the Ace, and follow with the Queen. 

It is nearly always preferable to lead from an 
Ace, to four, or even three cards, than from any 
other high card ; or to lead up to an Ace and 
small cards exposed in Dummy, than to a guarded 
King or Queen. 

When weak in trumps avoid leading from a 
suit headed by King, Jack, 10, but if compelled 
to do so, lead the Jack. This is now the recog- 
nised lead at Bridge among the most experienced 
players, although the lead at Whist is the 10. 

There are points in favour of both leads, but 
the writer would give preference to the lead of 



60 



MODERN BRIDGE 



the Jack at Bridge, and thinks it advisable that 
it should be generally adopted. 

As already pointed out, the Jack should not be 
led from King, Queen, Jack, the King being the 
proper lead, no matter how many cards are held 
of the suit. The Jack originally led, when a suit 
is declared trumps, will then always indicate, 
either a suit which includes also the King and 10, 
or that the Jack is the highest card held by the 
leader in the suit. 

The 10 led as an original lead, not being now 
led from King, Jack, 10, must always be the 
highest card held by the leader in the suit. 

With a plain suit of five or more cards, headed 
by Queen, Jack, lead the Queen as an original 
lead, when weak in trumps. You have but little 
chance of making more than two tricks in the 
suit, and should the King be on your left, it may 
never make if your partner holds the Ace. 

With Queen, Jack, 9 of a suit it is generally 
advisable to lead the Queen. 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



61 



PLAY THIRD IN HAND BY ORIGINAL 
LEADER'S PARTNER 

A very common mistake of the beginner is to 
finesse the Queen against his partner when hold- 
ing Ace and Queen of the suit led, the King not 
being exposed in Dummy. The Ace must always 
be played in this case, as nothing is lost by so 
doing if the King is with the original leader, 
while the King may be unguarded in the dealer's 
hand, or your partner may have led a singleton. 

Should the third player hold Ace and Jack in 
a suit led by his partner, apparently from strength, 
and the King or Queen be exposed in Dummy, he 
should finesse the Jack, as the only chance of 
making three tricks in the suit, but not at a 
possible risk of losing or missing the game by not 
making the Ace. If however, there is no honour 
in Dummy, the Ace must be played, and the 
Jack returned, should Dummy not hold the 10 
guarded. 



62 



MODERN BRIDGE 



In returning a suit of your partner's, always 
return the higher of two remaining, or the lowest 
of three remaining small cards, as at Whist. It 
enables your partner to count the number of 
cards you hold in the suit. e. g. — Should you, 
after winning the first trick in the suit, return the 
2, your partner knows you have either no more, 
or at least two more of the suit. 

THE LEAD OF THE FOURTH-BEST 

When not leading a ' short suit,' or a recognised 
high card lead, it is most important to make a 
practice of leading the fourth-best of your suit, for 
your partner, having seen his own and Dummy's 
hand, can then tell, by a simple process of arith- 
metic, how many cards there are in the dealer's 
hand that will beat the card led. 

There are thirteen cards in a suit, but it must be 
borne in mind that the Ace is at the head of it, 
and that the 2 is the lowest card, so that if there 
were no picture cards nor Aces, and all the cards 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



63 



were marked with pips, their relative values would 
be expressed by numbers of pips, ranging from 2 
to 14. Taking any card therefore that is marked 
with pips, you know at once how many higher 
cards there are in the suit by simply deducting the 
number of such pips from fourteen. 

You lead your fourth-best, say the 8, from Ace, 
Jack, 9, 8. There are six cards higher than the 8 
in the suit, of which you hold three, as you led 
your fourth-best. Therefore there are only three 
cards in other hands than yours that will beat your 
8 led. Your partner sees how many of these three 
cards are held by himself and Dummy, and only the 
remainder of them can be in the dealer's hand. 

The Fourteen Rule. To the number of pips 
on the card led, add 3 (the number of cards the 
leader holds higher than the card led), then deduct 
this total from 14, and you arrive at the total 
number of cards, held in all other hands than the 
leader's, that are higher than the card led. 

Or again, by first deducting 3 (the number of 
cards held by the leader higher than the card led) 



64 



MODERN BRIDGE 



from 14, you have then, from the remainder 11, 
only to deduct the number of pips on the card led 
to arrive at the same result. 

The writer considers 14 the better number for 
the beginner to keep in mind, inasmuch as it bears 
its own explanation. For the practical purposes 
of the rule, the beginner should imagine all the 
cards to be marked with numbers of pips ranging 
from 2 to 14. (For examples illustrating the ap- 
plication of the Fourteen Eule, vide ' The Lead of 
the Fourth -best/ ' No-Trumps Game/ pp. 87). 

DISCAEDING 

When playing against a trump-suit declaration, 
discard, as a rule, from your long suit, as the proba- 
bilities are not in favour of establishing it and 
bringing it in ; while it is inadvisable to lessen 
what little protection you may hold in your weak 
suits. 

When playing under Dummy, that is upon 
Dummy's right, your partner must be more influ- 



THE TRUMP-SUIT GAME 



65 



enced by the exposed hand than by your discard 
which can then afford him but little information. 
• When playing over Dummy, that is upon 
Dummy's left, your first discard should, when 
practicable, be made from strength, and from the 
suit you wish your partner to lead you. You thus 
indicate, by one discard, in what suit your strength 
lies. Should you make a practice of discarding 
from weakness, two discards are necessary in order 
to inform your partner in what suit you are strong. 

Should your partner double, or should it be evi- 
dent that he holds considerable trump strength, or 
should you hold a strong hand yourself, it may, of 
course, be inadvisable to part with any of your 
strong suit. Under such circumstances, your part- 
ner should often understand that your discard is 
being made from weakness. 

With such a sequence as Ace, King, Queen ; or 
King, Queen, Jack, it is often advisable to discard 
the highest card, so that your partner may be in 
no doubt as to what is your strong suit. 



5 



66 



MODERN BRIDGE 



PLAYING FALSE CAEDS 

The dealer should play a false card whenever it 
is to his advantage to disguise what he holds. 
When playing against the declaration, however, 
nothing is much more annoying than being misled 
by a partner's reckless playing of false cards, and 
it is remarkable to what an extent this childish 
and disaster-bringing practice is indulged in by 
weak players. 

Never play a false card unless practically certain 
that doing so cannot affect your partner's play to his 
disadvantage. This might be so, for instance, when 
certain that your partner holds nothing, and that 
you are practically playing one hand against the 
dealer's two. 

FOECING 

Unless your partner doubles, you should, at the 
beginning of a hand, at any rate, seldom hesitate 
to force him. Even when he doubles, it is fre- 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 



67 



quently upon an all-round playing hand, when he 
is, possibly, only too anxious to ruff with his small 
trumps. 

CALLING FOR TEUMPS 

It is sometimes desirable, when playing against 
the declaration, that your partner should lead you 
a trump, and the recognised convention, by means 
of which you can impart this information, is the 
same as at Whist. 

In following to a suit led, you play first 
a higher, and then a lower card of that suit e. g. 
— Should the King, and then the Ace of Hearts be 
led, if you hold the 7 and the 3 of the suit, and 
wish to call for trumps, play the 7 upon the King 
first led, and the 3 upon the Ace led for the 
second round. 

You may also call for trumps by discarding a 
lower card of any suit, having previously followed 
with, or discarded a higher card of that suit. 
Upon playing the lower card of the suit in 



68 



MODERN BRIDGE 



which you are calling, your call is said to be 
' completed/ 

Playing high to win, or to attempt to win a 
trick, must not be confounded with a call for 
trumps; but winning, or attempting to win a 
trick, with the higher card of a sequence, and 
then playing a lower card of that sequence, con- 
stitutes a call. 



THE TRUMP— SUIT GAME 69 



FINESSING BY DEALER 

With the following cards in his own and 
Dummy's hand, it is generally advisable to take 
the finesse in the manner given below. 

In one hand. In other hand. 

1. x, x, x. A., Q., x. 

Lead small card and finesse 
Queen. 

2. A., x, x. K., J., x, x. 

Play Ace first round, fin- 
esse Jack second round. 

3. Q.,J.,x. A., x, x, x. 

Lead Queen and finesse it; 
if it wins continue with 
Jack. 

4. J., X, X. A., 10, x, X. 

Lead Jack and finesse it; 
finesse 10 second round. 

5. J., x, x. K., 10, x, X. 

Lead Jack and finesse it. 



It is well perhaps to point out that the Ace 
and King may be interchanged in the above hands 
thus. No. 2 finesse — King and small ones in 



70 



MODERN BRIDGE 



one hand ; Ace, Jack and small ones in the other 
hand. Then King should be played first round, 
and the Jack finessed upon the second round. 

The Queen and Jack, and the Jack and 10 can 
also be interchanged and similar finesses taken. 

KE-ENTKY 

When in a position to win a trick in either 
hand, the dealer must be careful to do so in the 
hand best suited to his game. He must endeavour 
to keep cards of re-entry for his strong suit, after 
having drawn the trumps. 

It often happens that a trump, in the weaker 
trump hand, would have been a valuable card of 
re-entry, had the dealer been prudent enough to 
keep a low trump, in the stronger trump hand 
with which to put in such weaker trump hand, 
after all the adversaries' trumps are drawn. 



THE ■« NO-TRUMPS' GAME 

DOUBLING 

With the score at love all, the original leader should, 
as a rule, not double unless he holds the odd trick 
practically safe in his own hand. With Ace, 
King, Queen, Jack, and two others of a suit, he 
may safely count upon six tricks, but unless he 
has another certain trick, he will do well not to 
double, as there is no certainty that his partner 
can make even one trick. 

Should, however, the dealer be in such a position 
that twelve points will make him game, while his 
opponents are not so placed, then, in case of hold- 
ing six practically certain tricks, the original 
leader should double. He will be the better 
placed for doing so, when holding no strength 
outside his one long suit, should the declaration 



72 



MODERN BRIDGE 



be made by Dummy, as he will have the advan- 
tage of leading though the declaring hand after he 
has made his six tricks, and when his partner has, 
in all probability, had the opportunity of inform- 
ing him, by his discard {vide 6 Discarding,' p. 97), in 
what suit he has strength. It is only under such 
conditions as the foregoing that the doubler is the 
better placed by being under the declarer. 

The original leader should always double, 
unless perhaps within twelve points of game, when 
holding — 

1. Ace, King, Queen, and four small ones of a 
suit. 

2. Ace, King, Queen, and three small ones of a 
suit, and another Ace. 

The leader's partner should also double, when 
holding either of the above hands, no matter in 
what suits, if playing according to the present 
custom of the leading card rooms in England. 
Some English authorities go so far as to say the 
third player should double on any suit of six cards 
headed by a tierce major, — the reason being that 



THE 'NO-TRUMPS' GAME 



73 



unless he doubles, the chance of his suit being led, 
before the game is lost, is so very remote. 

With a tierce major to six cards only, and the 
dealer's score in such a position that he requires two 
tricks at twelve a trick to make him game, it may be 
safer for the third player not to double the value of 
the trick. But should the dealer's side be within 
twelve points of game, and their opponents not be 
in that position, then the third player should 
double upon a suit of six cards headed by a tierce 
major. 

Should the player on the right of the dealer 
double, his partner must assume he has a long suit 
(and more probably a red one than a black), 
headed by high cards. The original leader, there- 
fore, must play his weakest numerical suit, and 
should his choice lie between two or three suits, 
he should select one that does not contain an 
Ace, King, or Queen, and a red one in preference 
to a black. If he has an Ace, he might first play 
it to see what is in the exposed hand, and so 
possibly obtain some indication as to his partner's 



74 



MODERN BRIDGE 



suit. Should Dummy have made the declaration, 
the information so obtained will be all the more 
valuable; but, in case the dealer has made the 
declaration, and the original leader holds Ace and 
Queen of a suit, it may be advisable for him not to 
part with the Ace, but to lead his weakest suit at 
once. Holding Ace and King of a suit, the 
original leader will, of course, play the King to see 
what Dummy holds. 

On the Continent and in America, however, it 
is a recognised convention, that, in case the 
third player doubles a ' No-Trumps ' declaration, 
his partner must lead a Heart, if he has one. 

Under these circumstances, in order for the 
third player to double, it is generally necessary 
either that his long suit is in Hearts, or that 
he holds the Ace of Hearts. At any rate, he 
must be prepared for his partner to lead him a 
Heart. 

When playing where the Heart convention is 
recognised, the third player should double when 
holding King, Queen, Jack, and four, or even 



THE ' NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



75 



three, small Hearts, and another Ace. It is worth 
his while to double the value of the trick in order 
to get a Heart led, for, should his Ace be taken 
out of his hand before his Hearts are established, 
he may never make a single trick in his long suit. 
On the other hand, should a Heart be led origi- 
nally, he stands a very good chance of making 
five or six tricks in the suit. 

If the original leader holds the Ace of Hearts, 
he must lead it, and continue with his highest, 
so as not to block his partner's suit. 

Holding Ace and King of another suit, the 
original leader should play his King, before play- 
ing a Heart. This may enable his partner to put 
him in again if he wants a Heart led a second 
time through Dummy. 

Personally the author favours the adoption of 
the Heart convention, as a 1 No-Trumps 1 declar- 
ation can then be doubled, by the third player, 
with far less risk than when the original leader 
has to lead blindly from his weakest suit. 

With the two conventions at present in vogue, 



76 



MODERN BRIDGE 



it is essential that you should ascertain on which 
system your partner plays, before beginning the 
rubber. 

THE OKIGINAL LEAD. 

The fundamental principle guiding the original 
leader, playing against a ' No-Trumps ' declaration, 
should be that his first lead is from his strongest 
(that is his longest) suit, which he hopes ulti- 
mately to bring in ; but for various reasons, to be 
enumerated hereafter, the correct card to lead 
(especially when the suit is headed by a high 
card sequence of two cards only, e. g., Ace, King, 
or King, Queen) is quite different from the correct 
card to lead when playing against a plain suit 
declaration. 

With a long suit to the Ace, and no card of 
re-entry in another suit, the best method of mak- 
ing several tricks in it is to lead the fourth-best, 
and to hold up the master card (until the third 
round if necessary) to bring in your suit when 



THE ' NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



77 



established. It is true that you may never make 
your Ace, but by holding it up you stand a chance 
of making several tricks in the suit. This is an 
instance in which you should forego a certain 
trick (unless to save or win the game) for a 
possible three or four tricks. 

Example of holding up the Master-card. 

Original leader's partner holds — 
King, 8, 6. 

Dummy holds — Dealer holds — 

Queen, Jack, 4. 9. 

Original leader holds — 
Ace, 10, 7, 5, 3, 2. 

First Bound. — The original leader leads the 5, 
his fourth-best; Dummy plays the Jack; the 
original leader's partner plays the King; and the 
dealer plays the 9. 

Second Bound. — The original leader's partner 
returns the 8 ; the dealer discards, and the original 
leader allows Dummy to win the trick, for he 



78 



MODERN BRIDGE 



knows his partner has one more card of his suit, 
which he must play should he get in, when the 
original leader will make four more tricks in the 
suit. 

Should the original leader win the second 
round of the suit with the Ace, Dummy will be 
left in command of it, with the Queen, so that 
although his partner has one more card of the 
suit, the original leader will never be able to 
bring it in. 

The lead of the fourth-best should also be ad- 
hered to when holding a suit of five or six cards 
headed by the Ace and King, with no card of re- 
entry in another suit. In this case you run a 
possible risk of losing two certain tricks, the Ace 
and King, but you have a much greater chance of 
making several tricks in the suit, which you will 
do, in all probability, if your partner gets in and 
can return your lead. If you lead out Ace and 
King at once, you have only a very remote chance 
of making another trick in the suit. 

Therefore, with a long suit of less than seven 



THE ' NO-TKUMPS ' GAME 



79 



cards, headed by Ace and King, and no card of 
re-entry in another suit, it will be found advan- 
tageous to assume that your partner has, at any 
rate, two cards of your suit, and a winning card 
in another suit. Your lead will show him your 
suit and, with no obviously better game in his 
own hand, he must assume yours to be a strong 
suit, and return it to you immediately he gets in. 
The chances are very great that, once your suit is 
returned, you (having Ace and King still left with 
which to win the second and third rounds) will 
make all your other cards in it. 

With a suit of seven or more cards headed by 
the Ace and King, however, the King should be 
led, whether holding or not holding a card of re- 
entry outside the suit ; for, should the remaining 
cards be evenly distributed, that is, two cards be 
held by each of the other three hands, you will 
make seven tricks at once. 

Again, if you lead a small card, you may never 
make a trick in the suit, for, having as many as 
seven in your own hand, your partner may not 



80 



MODERN BRIDGE 



have a card of the suit to lead you, in case of his 
getting in. Your play, after leading the King, 
must be regulated by what is exposed in Dummy, 
and by the cards that fall upon the first round, 
and it may frequently be inadvisable to play out 
the Ace, if by so doing you make good one or 
more cards for your opponent. 

With Ace, Queen, Jack, and four or less small 
ones, and no card of re-entry in another suit, lead 
the Queen. This will probably clear the suit for 
you (your partner if he has the King, and one 
other only, must play his King upon your Queen 
led, vide ' Unblocking/ ' No-Trumps Game,' p. 92), 
and, if your partner can return it, you will prob- 
ably make the rest of your cards in it. 

Leading the Queen, it is probably only necessary 
that your partner should hold two small cards in 
the suit, to enable you to bring it in, if he holds, 
as well, a single winning card in another suit. If, 
on the other hand, you lead the Ace, and the King 
does not fall, your partner must hold three cards 
in the suit for you to establish it. 



THE 6 NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



81 



With Ace, King, Jack, alone, or with others, 
lead King. Your further play must be guided by 
what is exposed in Dummy, and by the cards your 
partner and the dealer drop in the first round. In 
case of Dummy not holding the Queen, and your 
having no card of re-entry in another suit, you 
should seldom continue the suit, but wait for your 
partner to return it. 

With Ace, Jack, 10, and others, lead Jack. 
Should the dealer hold King, Queen, and another, 
he may, unless you lead an honour, win the first 
round with a small card; while, if you lead your 
Ace, you make both his King and Queen good ; 
but, leading the Jack, the dealer must play his 
King or Queen to win the trick. Now, should 
the second round of the suit be led by your part- 
ner, you hold the tenace over the dealer, whose 
remaining honour never makes. Your lead of the 
Jack will also possibly prevent the Queen making 
if in Dummy's hand, should your partner hold 
the King of the suit. 

With an almost certain means of re-entry in 
6 



82 



MODERN BRIDGE 



another suit, such as an Ace, or possibly a King, 
and Queen, the position is different, and with a 
long suit headed by Ace, and King, or Ace, Queen, 
and Jack, you should often lead King, followed by 
Ace and another in the first instance, and Ace, 
followed by Queen, in the second instance, this 
being the quickest way to establish the suit. 

By adopting the foregoing system of leads, that 
is, leading your high cards when you have a card 
of re-entry in another suit ; and leading from your 
high cards when you have no such card of re-entry, 
your partner should readily know whether you 
have a card of re-entry outside your chief suit or 
not, and can regulate his game accordingly. 



THE ' XO-TBUMPS ' GAME 



83 



We thus arrive at the following — 

Table of ' No-Trumps ' leads from the Ace, when 
holding no card of re-entry in another suit : — 



With Lead 

Ace and seven or less small cards 4th best. 

Ace, Queen, and six or less small cards .... 4th best. 

Ace, King, and four or less small cards .... 4th best. 

Ace, King, and five or more small cards .... King. 

Ace, King, Jack, and one or more small cards . . King. 

Ace, Queen, Jack, and five or less small cards . . Queen. 

Ace, Jack, 10, and small cards Jack. 



Leads from high card sequences not headed 
by Ace 

Holding King, Queen, Jack, and two or more 
small cards, the King should always be led, and 
not the Jack as at Whist. It is only necessary to 
indicate the Ace or Queen being held, in addition 
to the King led. ( Vide ' Unblocking,' ' No- 
Trumps Game/ p. 92.) 

With a long suit of six cards or less, headed by 
King and Queen, and no card of re-entry in another 
suit, you should, upon the same principle as when 



84 



MODEEN BRIDGE 



leading from a long suit to the Ace, or Ace, King, 
lead your fourth best. With a suit of seven or 
more cards in all, however, the King had better be 
led. 

With a long suit headed by King, Queen, 10, the 
King should always be led when holding a card of 
re-entry in another suit. It should also be led 
when holding a suit of four cards only to King, 
Queen, 10, in order to prevent the Jack making 
upon the first round, with the possibility of holding 
the tenace over the dealer upon the return of the 
suit. With a suit of five or six cards in all, to 
King, Queen, 10, however, and no card of re-entry 
in another suit, the writer would lead his fourth- 
best, in the hope of his partner being in a position 
to enable him to establish it and bring it in ; the 
question of the number of cards his partner is 
likely to hold in the suit having then to be con- 
sidered. For, should the original leader lead the 
King, his partner must play the Ace upon it in 
case of his holding it once guarded only {vide 
4 Unblocking/ 'No-Trumps Game/ p. 92), and in 



THE 'NO-TRUMPS' GAME 



85 



doing so may give the dealer the command of the 
suit for the third round. 

By leading his fourth-best, the original leader 
runs the greater risk of losing two tricks in the 
suit, but he stands a much better chance of mak- 
ing four or five tricks in it. 

Holding King, Jack, and 10, lead the Jack. 
(Vide ' Trump-Suit Game/ p. 59.) 

As the Jack is never led from a suit, no matter 
what its length, which also includes the King and 
Queen, the J ack led, upon a ' No-Trumps ' declara- 
tion, indicates that the leader either holds the Ace 
and 10, or the King and 10 as well; or, that the 
Jack is the highest card he holds in the suit. 

With Queen, Jack, 10, or Queen, Jack, 9, lead 
Queen. 



86 



MODERN" BRIDGE 



We thus arrive at the following — 

Table of ' No- Trumps' leads from high card se- 
quences not headed by the Ace: — 



With Lead 

King, Queen, Jack, with or without others . . King. 
King, Queen, and five or more small cards, with 

or without card of re-entry ...... King. 

King, Queen, and three or four small cards, with 

card of re-entry King. 

Without card of re-entry 4th best. 

King, Queen, 10, to four or seven cards in all, 

with or without card of re-entry .... King. 
King, Queen, 10, to five or six cards in all, with 

card of re-entry King. 

Without card of re-entry 4th best. 

King, Jack, 10 Jack. 

Queen, Jack, 10 Queen. 

Queen, Jack, 9 Queen. 

Jack, 10, 9 Jack. 



The Lead of the Fourth-best 

It is most important when not leading a high 
card to lead your fourth-best, as it enables your 
partner, in many instances, to count your suit, and 
to know what cards the dealer holds against you. 



THE 1 NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



87 



Should you lead a 2, for instance, your partner 
knows you have a suit of four cards only, and, if 
he holds five cards in the suit, he will be careful 
to retain the command of it for the fourth round, 
if he can possibly do so. 

The following are two examples illustrating the ad- 
vantages of the ' Lead of the Fourth-best,' and 
the application of the 6 Fourteen Rule' (Vide 
' Trump-suit Game,' p. 62.) 



The original leader leads the 7, his fourth-best. 
His partner adds 3 to 7, then subtracts the 10 thus 
obtained from 14, and the remainder, 4, is, the num- 
ber of cards held in other hands than the leader's, 
higher than the 7 led. 



Original leader's partner holds — 
King, 9, 4. 



Dummy holds — 
Jack, 8, 3, 2. 



Dealer holds — 
6. 



Original leader holds — 
Ace, Queen, 10, 7, 5. 



88 



MODERN BRIDGE 



In this instance, the original leader's partner sees 
these four cards, the Jack, and 8, in Dummy, and 
the King and 9 in his own hand. He also knows 
that, as the original leader led his fourth-best, he 
(the original leader) holds three cards higher than 
the 7 originally led. These three cards must be 
the Ace, Queen and 10, as they are the only other 
three cards, in the suit, higher than the 7. 

The original leader leads the 7. Should Dummy 
cover with the 8, the original leader's partner must 
play the 9, and upon winning the trick, return the 
King. 

Should Dummy play the Jack upon the 7 led, 
the original leader's partner must win with the 
King and return the 9. 

Should Dummy not cover the 7 led, the original 
leader's partner may play the 4, and allow the 7 
to win the trick. This will inform the original 
leader that his partner holds both the King and 9. 

The dealer's side thus never makes a trick in the 
suit. 

Should fourth-best leads, and the c Eule ' applying 



THE 6 NO— TRUMPS 9 GAME 



89 



to them be ignored, it would be very difficult to 
avoid the command of the suit being held, upon 
the fourth round, by Dummy's Jack. 



The original leader leads the 6, his fourth-best. 
His partner adds 3 to 6, then subtracts the 9 thus 
obtained from 14, and the remainder 5, is the num- 
ber of cards, held in other hands than the leader's, 
higher than the card led. 

The original leader's partner sees these five cards, 
the Queen and 9 in Dummy, and the Ace, Jack, 
and 7, in his own hand. He also knows that the 
original leader holds the King, 10, and 8, as they 
are the only other three cards in the suit, higher 
than the 6 led. 



II 



Original leader's partner holds — 
Ace, Jack, 7, 3. 



Dummy holds — 
Queen, 9, 5, 2. 



Dealer holds — 
4. 



Original leader holds — 
King, 10, 8, 6. 



90 



MODERN BRIDGE 



The original leader leads the 6. 

Should Dummy not cover, the original leader's 
partner may allow it to pass, when it will win the 
trick ; or, he may himself win the trick by cover- 
ing with the 7. 

The original leader's partner is in a position to 
win any card that Dummy may cover with, and 
the dealer's side never makes a trick in the suit. 
Should fourth-best leads be ignored, however, it 
would again be very difficult to avoid their doing 
so. 

In the above, and similar cases, the fourth round 
of the suit can be won either by the leader or his 
partner. Care should be taken to play the suit so 
that the lead, after the fourth round, remains in 
the hand from which it can be most advantageously 
continued. Should one player obviously go out 
of his way to retain a card with which to win the 
last round of the suit, his partner should be care- 
ful to get rid of the command of it. 

Should the original leader, for instance, hold, in 
addition to his long suit, a winning card with 



THE 6 NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



91 



which he can possibly save or win the game, 
he should try to retain the master card of the 
long suit for the last round. He can generally 
indicate his wish to do so by playing out his 
lower cards (so that his partner has to win the 
earlier tricks) keeping his higher cards for the 
later rounds. 

Or, should the original leader's partner hold a 
winning card, then he should try to win the last 
round of their long suit. 

Again, should the original leader hold consider- 
able strength in a suit in which Dummy shows 
weakness (should he, for instance, be able to beat 
any card held by Dummy in that suit), he should 
often play so as to induce his partner to win the 
last round of their long suit, and his partner 
should then understand that he was expected to 
lead up to that exposed weakness. 

There is one exception to the original leader 
opening his longest suit, and that is when it con- 
sists of four cards only in a black suit headed by 
a 9, or even a 10. In this case, a lead of a 



92 MODERN BEIDGE 

strengthening card in Hearts or Diamonds is 
preferable. 

e. g. — Holding — 

Hearts, Q., 4. 
Diamonds, 9, 4, 2. 
Clubs, 10, 7, 6, 3. 
Spades, 9, 8, 5, 2. 

The Queen of Hearts should certainly be led. 

The lead of a strengthening card in Hearts is, 
of course, always preferable to one in any other 
suit, and is still the more likely to be advantage- 
ous should the ' No-Trumps ' declaration have 
been made by Dummy, as the original leader may 
then reasonably assume that the dealer is not 
very strong in the suit. 

UNBLOCKING 

Great care must always be taken at 1 No-Trumps ' 
to avoid retaining the master card only of your 
partner's strong suit, and thereby blocking it. 

The following are instances in which it is neces- 



THE f NO— TRUMPS ' GAME 



93 



sary to head what is already your partner's trick, 
and so avoid such blocking. 

With Ace and one small card, the Ace should 
always be played on the King led originally, and 
the suit returned immediately (except perhaps 
when Dummy holds three cards to the Jack in 
the suit). 

With Ace and one small card, the Ace should 
also be played on the Queen led in all cases if the 
King is not in Dummy's hand, and generally even 
if the King is in Dummy twice guarded, as by 
continuing with the small card your partner's suit 
is established after the second round, while by 
holding up the Ace you cannot prevent the King 
making. 

The exception to playing the Ace in the above 
case is when you are certain of saving the game 
by retaining it. 

Similarly, with Ace and two small cards, the 
Ace should be played on your partner's Queen, on 
the second round of the suit opened by King, and 
followed by Queen, and the small card returned. 



94 



MODERN BRIDGE 



With King and one small card, the King should 
be played on partner's Queen led originally, as this 
lead is either from Ace, Queen, Jack, &c, or 
Queen, Jack, 10, &c. 

Even when playing an honour upon an honour 
led by your partner makes a card good in the 
exposed hand, it is sometimes preferable to block- 
ing the suit by holding it up. This is especially 
the case should you have reason to believe that 
your partner has a card of re-entry in another 
suit. 

Again, with three or four to a high card in your 
partner's suit, if you do not play to win the trick, 
play your lowest card but one, or lowest card but 
two, upon the first round, keeping your lowest 
card until the last round, if necessary, to be sure, 
if possible, that the suit is not eventually blocked 
for your partner. ( Vide, ' Showing four in your 
partner's suit,' p. 98.) 



THE ' ISTO-TKUMPS ' GAME 



95 



KETUBNING THE LEAD 

The advisability of returning your partner's open- 
ing lead at ' No-Trumps ' cannot be too strongly in- 
sisted upon. The only justification for not doing 
so is the exposure of great strength in Dummy, or 
your having an undoubtedly better chance of 
saving or winning the game by taking another 
course. 

A very common and disaster-bringing mistake 
among beginners is, that after winning the first 
trick in their partner's suit, they will persist in 
leading up to the exposed weakness in Dummy, 
and so possibly take out of the original leader's 
hand, before doing anything towards establishing 
his suit, the only card of re-entry he held. 

Of all the terrible persecutions that a weak 
player has the power to inflict upon his partner at 
Bridge, that of not returning the original lead of a 
' No-Trumps ' hand, when he ought to do so, is the 
most exasperating. You cannot expect to estab- 
lish two or three suits against a 'No-Trumps' 



96 



MODERN BRIDGE 



declaration, and although your partner may not 
be able to indicate that he is leading from great 
strength, it is always advisable, in case of having 
no certainly better game in your own hand, to 
assume that he is doing so, unless you are practi- 
cally certain of the contrary. 

In returning your partner's lead, unless you 
have reason to believe you have greater length 
in the suit than he has, it is often of less impor- 
tance to attempt to enable him to count the num- 
ber of cards you hold in the suit, than it is for 
you to return him a high card. With four of 
your partner's suit, therefore, it is generally ad- 
visable to return him the highest of three remain- 
ing cards. The higher of two remaining cards 
you should almost invariably return him. 

Should your partner lead a Jack, presumably 
from King, Jack, 10, through Dummy, and the 
Queen not be exposed ; if you hold the Ace, you 
must play it upon your partner's Jack led, giving 
him the tenace over the dealer's Queen, and 
avoiding blocking the suit. 



THE 'NO-TRUMPS' GAME 



97 



With Ace and Queen of a suit led by your 
partner through Dummy, the King not being in 
the exposed hand, play the Ace. Never finesse 
against your partner, for the King may be un- 
guarded in the dealer's hand, while, if guarded, 
you cannot prevent it making. 

DISCARDING 
The discard is of the utmost importance when 
playing against a ' No-Trumps ' declaration, so the 
conventions regulating it should be thoroughly 
appreciated. 

As the original leader's partner, your first dis- 
card should, when practicable, be from the suit 
you least want your partner to lead you, and 
your second discard should, when practicable, be 
from the other suit you do not want led ; thus 
leaving your partner in no doubt as to what suit 
to lead, It is often advisable, even at some con- 
siderable risk, to make a discard from a second 
suit, in order to give your partner this information. 

As the game progresses you may have to dis- 



98 



MODERN BRIDGE 



card from the suit you want led, but your partner 
must carefully bear in mind from what suits you 
firstly and secondly discarded. Thus, if your first 
discard to a Club led was a Heart, and the second 
suit from which you discarded was Spades, your 
partner should know that the suit you want him 
to lead you is Diamonds, although you may have 
been compelled later to discard a Diamond, or 
Diamonds. 

Showing your suit in discarding it* It fre- 
quently happens that, in order to protect some 
other suit, you are forced, even on your first dis- 
card, to discard from your strong suit. When 
placed in this position you should first discard 
a higher, and then a lower card of that suit, as 
when calling for trumps. ( Vide ' Calling for 
Trumps/ ' Trump-suit Game/ p. 67.) This, ac- 
cording to a recognized convention, will inform 
your partner that you are being forced to dis- 
card from your strength. 

Showing four of your partner 9 s suit. When 
holding four or more cards of your partner's 



THE ' NO-TRUMPS ' GAME 



99 



suit, it is often of great importance for him to 
know it. The convention, by means of which 
you may impart this information, is again simi- 
lar to that employed when calling for trumps, 
viz., to play, or discard, in the first place, an un- 
necessarily high card, and later a lower card of 
that suit. In order to show four, and at the same 
time avoid blocking the suit for your partner, it is 
often necessary to play your second-best card upon 
the first round, when you hold exactly four cards 
of the suit. 

When practicable, be careful to keep a card, or 
perhaps two cards, of your partner's suit, unless 
perhaps all the strength of that suit appears to be 
against you. 

Avoid, if possible, leaving yourself with an Ace 
blank early in the hand, as it must then fall upon 
the first round of the suit, and thus possibly af- 
ford most valuable information to your opponent. 

When holding one card only of a suit, it is 
frequently advisable, especially when playing 
against the dealer, to retain that card as long as 

LofC. 



100 



MODERN BRIDGE 



possible, for should you not follow to the first 
round of the suit, your opponent can immediately 
locate all the other cards in it. 

DEALEK'S PLAY 

The dealer's play may, generally speaking, be 
said to be mainly directed to — (I) The establish- 
ment of his own long suit, or suits ; (II) Preventing 
his adversaries establishing theirs ; and the play, to 
attain this end, often varies greatly from the 
'Trump-suit Game.' 

e. g. — Case I. The dealer, or his partner, fre- 
quently declares ' No-Trumps ? on considerable 
strength in three suits and very little in the 
fourth. Should the dealer find great strength in 
Dummy in this fourth suit, headed by Ace and 
King, but no card of re-entry in the other suits, 
he should underplay from Dummy on the first 
round of the suit in which he holds Ace, King; as 
in the following example : — 



THE 'NO-TRUMPS' GAME 101 

Example showing how to establish and bring in a 
long suit headed by the Ace and King, at 
' No-Trumps' by underplaying the first round 
of it : — 

Dummy holds — 

Hearts, 6, 4. 
Diamonds, 8, 7, 3. 
Clubs, A., K., 8, 7, 5, 4, 2. 
Spades, 9. 

Dealer holds — 

Hearts, A., Q., 3. 
Diamonds, A., 10, 6, 2. 
Clubs, 6, 3- 
Spades, A., 10, 7, 4. 

The original leader leads a Heart, which the 
dealer wins with the Queen. 

The dealer then leads a Club, and no matter 
what the second hand plays, Dummy plays a 
small Club. 

Now, should the fourth hand follow, Dummy 
makes all the rest of the cards in the suit, as the 



102 



MODERN BRIDGE 



dealer has still a Club left to lead him, and there 
are only two other cards of the suit to be 
accounted for, both of which must fall to the Ace 
and King. 

The dealer thus makes four by cards at least. 

Should Dummy play the Ace or King upon the 
first round, then, unless the opponents hold two 
Clubs each, he only makes two tricks in the suit, 
as his opponents must win the third round, and 
he has no card of re-entry in another suit. 

In the above case, if Dummy held Ace, King, to 
five Clubs only, with no card of re-entry, a small 
Club should still be played on the first round, for, 
if the remaining six Clubs are evenly distributed 
between the adversaries, the dealer will thus make 
four tricks in the suit. 

Case II. Preventing adversaries establishing 
their suit. 

When holding the master-card, but no other 
high card, in your opponents' suit, it is generally 
advisable to hold up such master-card until the 
third round, or until one of your adversaries has 



THE ' NO— TRUMPS ' GAME 103 



no more of the suit. By playing thus, you pre- 
vent the suit being brought in unless the holder 
has a card of re-entry in another suit. In this 
connection the dealer should take special care to 
prevent the long suit holder getting in again, 
i. e., he should finesse deeply against his other 
opponent, but rarely, if at all, against the long 
suit holder. 

When Dummy holds King and one small card, 
or Queen and one small card, of the original 
leader's suit, the honour should be played second 
in hand if the dealer holds no honour in the 
suit. 

When Dummy has Queen and one small card, 
or J ack and one small card, of the original leader's 
suit, the honour should also be played second in 
hand, if the dealer holds the Ace of the suit 
guarded, but the small card if the dealer holds 
the King guarded. 



HINTS 



Always play to the score. With great strength in 
trumps declared against you, make the trick that 
saves the game on the first opportunity, and never 
take a risk which involves the possibility of losing 
a game that might have been saved. 

Similarly, when you are in a position to win the 
game, take no risk which involves the possibility 
of losing it. e.g. — With only one trick required 
to win the game, do not finesse the Queen as third 
player in a suit in which you hold Ace, Queen, if 
the position of the King is doubtful. In short, 
make the trick that wins or saves the game as 
soon as possible. 

As original leader holding Ace, King, and Jack, 
lead the King, and should the Queen not be 
exposed in Dummy, it is generally advisable to 
wait for your partner to return the suit. 



HINTS 



105 



As dealer, when holding Ace, King, and Jack 
of a suit, play the Ace or King, and do not finesse 
upon the first round, for the Queen may be single 
and fall. 

As dealer, holding an honour and one small card 
in the suit in which Dummy has an honour and 
two small cards, neither of the honours being the 
Ace (or with position reversed), it is advisable to 
avoid leading the suit, yourself, for if led by your 
adversaries, you must (bar ruffing) make a trick 
on the third round. When the suit is led by your 
adversaries, the hand containing the honour and 
one small card, should never play the honour 
second in hand, on the first round, except to cover 
an honour led. e. g. — With Queen, and one small 
card in Dummy, and Jack and two small cards in 
dealer's hand, there is a certain trick in the suit 
(bar ruffing), if led by adversaries, and small cards 
are played on the first round by the dealer. If 
the dealer leads the suit, he will make no trick 
in it, should the Ace and King be in separate 



106 



MODERN BRIDGE 



hands. The 10 is not to be considered an honour 
in this case. 

When playing against a ' No-Trumps ' declara- 
tion, it is often very important not to part with 
the command of a long suit, held in one of the 
dealer's hands, until his other hand is void of that 
suit. But with a great suit of your own, or if in 
a position to establish your partner's suit, it may 
be better to win a trick upon the first opportunity, 
as the dealer possibly only requires one or two 
tricks in the suit, of which you hold the com- 
mand, in order to make game, having the rest of 
the necessary tricks in another suit. 

At ' No-Trumps/ when, as dealer, you have an 
established suit, and are in a position to win tricks 
in it in either hand, it is often not advisable to 
play out the suit until you have established a 
second suit, as your cards in the first suit may 
be your only means of re-entry for that second 
suit. 



HINTS 



107 



At ' No-Trumps/ as dealer, when playing out 
a long suit, watch carefully your opponents' dis- 
cards. They must, as a general rule, discard from 
suits in which they are weak, thus giving you in- 
formation as to where to finesse with a probability 
of success. 

At 'No-Trumps' it is very rarely advisable to 
finesse third in hand, on your partner's original 
lead. The following example, however, illustrates 
a permissible exception to this general rule. 

Original leader's partner holds — 
Ace, 10, 3. 

Dummy holds — Dealer holds — 

Queen, 8. ? 

Original leader 

leads the 4. 

The original leader leads the 4, his fourth-best. 

As the original leader's partner holds the 3, 
there is only one card, the 2, lower than the 4 
that the original leader can possibly hold. His 



108 



MODERN BRIDGE 



suit, therefore, is one of five cards at most. This 
leaves at least three, and possibly four cards of 
the suit, in the dealer's hand. 

If Dummy plays the 8 upon the 4 originally 
led, the original leader's partner should finesse the 
10. For, should the original leader have led from 
the King, to four or five cards, the Jack in the 
dealer's hand, being at least twice guarded, must 
eventually make, so that nothing is lost in the 
suit by finessing ; while, should the original leader 
have led from the Jack only, playing the Ace 
would make good both the King and the Queen in 
the opponents' hands. 

Then again, should the original leader have led 
from the King and Jack to four cards, while the 
dealer holds four cards to the 9, playing the Ace 
upon Dummy's 8 will probably make good the 
dealer's 9 for the fourth round. 



HINTS 



109 



As Dealer, when holding a suit distributed between 
your own and Dummy s hand as shown below, 
play an honour, from the hand which contains 
two honours, for the first round. 

Dummy holds — 
King, Jack, 9, 6, 5. 
Original leader Original leader's partner 

holds — holds 
Ace, 10, 7, 4 ? Ace, 10, 7, 4 ? 

Dealer holds — 
Queen, 8, 3, 2. 

Should you lead the honour, from the hand con- 
taining one honour only, then, in case of all the 
remaining cards of the suit being held to the right 
of that hand, the opponents will make the Ace 
and the 10. They will also do so should the re- 
maining cards be held to the left of the hand 
containing one honour, unless that hand holds a 
card of re-entry in another suit, and is thus en- 
abled to lead later through the 10. 



110 



MODERN BRIDGE 



By leading an honour from the hand which 
contains two honours, then, should one of your 
opponents be void of the suit, you are still in a 
position to finesse in either hand against the 
other opponent. 

Bemeinber that 6 up is a very important stage 
of the score, as the number of tricks necessary to 
make game in either ' No-Trumps/ Hearts, Dia- 
monds, or Clubs is then reduced by one. — An 
effort therefore should always be made to arrive 
at 6 up yourself, and to prevent your adversaries 
doing so. — Do not miss a certainty of making 
your score 6 up, in an attempt to make it 8 or 10. 

Again, and similarly, 12, 14, and 18 up are 
very important stages of the score. 



DUMMY BRIDGE 



Dummy Bridge is played by three players. Who- 
ever cuts the lowest card plays Dummy and deals. 
The player of Dummy first deals for himself, but 
whenever dealing, whether for himself or for 
Dummy, must first look at the hand for which 
he has dealt. 

First Hand. The player of Dummy deals, all 
the cards being turned face downwards. The 
dealer looks at his own hand, and if not disposed 
to declare from it, passes the declaration to 
Dummy. 

Dummy must then declare 'No-Trumps/ if he 
holds three or four Aces ; and, not holding such 
Aces, his longest suit; or, if two suits are of 
equal length, the strongest by addition of pips — 
an Ace counting eleven, and picture cards, ten 



112 



MODERN BRIDGE 



each. Should the two suits still be equal, the 
higher valued one must be declared. 

The player of Dummy then informs his oppon- 
ents what Dummy declares, and should they 
double, he may redouble, although he has looked 
at both his hands. In case however, of the player 
of Dummy making the declaration from the 
dealing hand, he can only redouble upon that 
hand. 

The player upon the dealer's left leads, and 
immediately he has done so, but not before, 
Dummy's hand is exposed. 

Second Hand. — The player upon Dummy's 
right deals, and may either declare trumps him- 
self, or pass to his partner, as at the four-handed 
game. 

Whenever the opponents of Dummy deal, the 
player of Dummy looks only at the hand from 
which he has to lead, and can double upon that 
hand alone, to be redoubled possibly by his 
opponents. 

Dummy leads, and his hand is exposed. The 



DUMMY BRIDGE 



113 



dealer's partner, however, does not expose his 
hand, but plays his own cards as though playing 
against the declaration. 

Third Hand. — Dummy deals. The player of 
Dummy looks first at Dummy's hand, and may 
either declare for Dummy, or pass to his own 
hand. He then informs his opponents what suit 
is declared. The matter of doubling or not doub- 
ling settled, the player upon Dummy's left leads, 
and immediately he has done so, but not before, 
Dummy's hand is exposed. 

Fourth Hand. — The player upon Dummy's left 
deals. The player of Dummy, only looks at his 
own hand before leading, and directly he has led, 
but not before, Dummy's hand is exposed. The 
dealer's partner again plays his own hand. 

Under the foregoing and generally adopted 
method of playing Dummy Bridge, the original 
Dummy hand is the only one ever exposed, and 
this, in the writer's opinion, is far preferable to 
the other method, in which two hands are ex- 
posed when either of Dummy's adversaries deal. 

8 



114 



MODERN BRIDGE 



A great improvement upon the ordinary, and 
somewhat tedious Dummy rubber, is for each 
player to take Dummy for one game only ; the 
winner, or winners, of each game to score 50 
points (instead of the usual 100 rubber points) 
in addition to the balance of points scored in 
the game. 



DOUBLE DUMMY BRIDGE 



Dummy's hand is always exposed, whether he deals 
or not. The player's hand is never exposed. 

Each player first looks at the hand from which 
he deals, whether dealing for himself or his 
Dummy. 

When the dealing hand passes the declaration, 
the same rules apply as in the three-handed game, 
both as regards the declaration and doubling. 

Previous to the first card being led, the origi- 
nal leader must only look at the hand from which 
he has to lead before deciding whether he will 
double or not. 

The Dummy hands are not exposed until a card 
is led. 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE * 



THE RUBBER 

1. The Rubber is the best of three games. If 
the first two games be won by the same players, 
the third game is not played. 

SCORING 

2. A game consists of 30 points obtained by 
tricks alone, exclusive of any points counted for 
Honours, Chicane, or Slam. 

3. Every hand is played out, and any points in 
excess of the 30 points necessary for the game 
are counted. 

4. Each trick above six counts 2 points when 

* Keprinted, verbatim, from the ' Laws of Bridge, etc.,' by 
'Boaz,' by arrangement with the publishers, Thos. De La 
Rue & Co., Ltd. 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 



117 



Spades are trumps, 4 points when Clubs are 
trumps, 6 points when Diamonds are trumps, 
8 points when Hearts are trumps, and 12 points 
when there are no trumps. 

5. Honours consist of Ace, King, Queen, Knave, 
and 10 of the trump suit. When there are no 
trumps they consist of the four Aces. 

6. Honours in trumps are thus reckoned : — 

If a player and his partner conjointly hold — 

I. The five honours of the trump suit, they 
score for honours five times the value of 
the tramp suit trick. 

II. Any four honours of the trump suit, they 
score for honours four times the value of 
the trump suit trick. 

III. Any three honours of the trump suit, they 
score for honours twice the value of the 
trump suit trick. 

If a player in his own hand holds — 

I. The five honours of the trump suit, he and 
his partner score for honours ten times 
the value of the trump suit trick. 



118 



MODERN BRIDGE 



II. Any four honours of the trump suit, they 
score for honours eight times the value 
of the trump suit trick. In this last case, 
if the player's partner holds the fifth 
honour, they also score for honours the 
single value of the trump suit trick. 

The value of the trump suit trick referred to in 
this law is its original value — e. g., 2 points in 
Spades and 6 points in Diamonds ; and the value 
of honours is in no way affected by any doubling 
or re-doubling that may take place under Laws 
53-56. 

7. Honours, when there are no trumps, are thus 
reckoned : — 

If a player and his partner conjointly hold — 

I. The four Aces, they score for honours 40 
points. 

II. Any three Aces, they score for honours 
30 points. 

If a player in his own hand holds — 

The four Aces, he and his partner score for 
honours 100 points. 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 119 



8. Chicane is thus reckoned : — 

If a player holds no trump, he and his part- 
ner score for Chicane twice the value of 
the trump suit trick. The value of Chi- 
cane is in no way affected by any doub- 
ling or re-doubling that may take place 
under Laws 53-56. 

9. Slam is thus reckoned : — 

If a player and his partner make, independently of 
any tricks taken for the revoke penalty — 

I. All thirteen tricks, they score for Grand 
Slam 40 points. 

II. Twelve tricks, they score for Little Slam 
20 points. 

10. Honours, Chicane, and Slam are reckoned in 
the score at the end of the rubber. 

11. At the end of the rubber, the total scores for 
tricks, honours, Chicane, and Slam obtained by 
each player and his partner are added up, 100 
points are added to the score of the winners 
of the rubber, and the difference between the two 



120 



MODERN BRIDGE 



scores is the number of points won, or lost, by the 
winners of the rubber. 

12. If an erroneous score affecting tricks be 
proved, such mistake may be corrected prior to the 
conclusion of the game in which it occurred, and 
such game is not concluded until the last card of 
the following deal has been dealt, or, in the case of 
the last game of the rubber, until the score has 
been made up and agreed. 

13. If an erroneous score affecting Honours, 
Chicane, or Slam be proved, such mistake may be 
corrected at any time before the score of the rub- 
ber has been made up and agreed. 

CUTTING 

14. The Ace is the lowest card. 

15. In all cases, every player must cut from the 
same pack. 

16. Should a player expose more than one card, 
he must cut again. 



THE LAWS OF BKIDGE 



121 



FOKMATION OF TABLE 

17. If there are more than four candidates, the 
players are selected by cutting, those first in the 
room having the preference. The four who cut 
the lowest cards play first, and again cut to de- 
cide on partners ; the two lowest play against the 
two highest; the lowest is the dealer, who has 
choice of cards and seats, and, having once made 
his selection, must abide by it. 

18. When there are more than six candidates, 
those who cut the two next lowest cards belong to 
the table, which is complete with six players ; on 
the retirement of one of those six players, the can- 
didate who cut the next lowest card has a prior 
right to any after-comer to enter the table. 

19. Two players cutting cards of equal value, 
unless such cards are the two highest, cut again ; 
should they be the two lowest, a fresh cut is neces- 
sary to decide which of those two deals. 

20. Three players cutting cards of equal value 
cut again ; should the fourth (or remaining) card 



122 



MODERN BRIDGE 



be the highest, the two lowest of the new cut are 
partners, the lower of those two the dealer ; should 
the fourth card be the lowest, the two highest are 
partners, the original lowest the dealer. 

CUTTING OUT 

21. At the end of a rubber, should admission be 
claimed by any one, or by two candidates, he who 
has, or they who have, played a greater number of 
consecutive rubbers than the others is, or are, out ; 
but when all have played the same number, they 
must cut to decide upon the outgoers ; the highest 
are out. 

ENTRY AND RE-ENTRY 

22. A candidate wishing to enter a table must 
declare such intention prior to any of the players 
having cut a card, either for the purpose of com- 
mencing a fresh rubber or of cutting out. 

23. In the formation of fresh tables, those can- 
didates who have neither belonged to nor played 
at any other table have the prior right of entry ; 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 123 



the others decide their right of admission by 
cutting. 

24. Any one quitting a table prior to the con- 
clusion of a rubber, may, with consent of the other 
three players, appoint a substitute in his absence 
during that rubber. 

25. A player cutting into one table, whilst be- 
longing to another, loses his right of re-entry into 
that latter, and takes his chance of cutting in, as 
if he were a fresh candidate. 

26. If any one break up a table, the remaining 
players have the prior right to him of entry into 
any other; and should there not be sufficient 
vacancies at such other table to admit all those 
candidates, they settle their precedence by cutting. 

SHUFFLING 

27. The pack must neither be shuffled below 
the table nor so that the face of any card be 
seen. 

28. The pack must not be shuffled during the 
play of the hand. 



124 



MODERN BRIDGE 



29. A pack, having been played with, must 
neither be shuffled by dealing it into packets, 
nor across the table. 

30. Each player has a right to shuffle, once 
only (except as provided by Law 33) prior to a 
deal, after a false cut, or when a new deal has 
occurred. 

31. The dealer's partner must collect the cards 
for the ensuing deal, and has the first right to 
shuffle that pack. 

32. Each player, after shuffling, must place the 
cards, properly collected and face downwards, to 
the left of the player about to deal. 

33. The dealer has always the right to shuffle 
last; but should a card or cards be seen during 
his shuffling or whilst giving the pack to be cut, 
he may be compelled to re -shuffle. 

THE DEAL 

34. Each player deals in his turn ; the order 
of dealing goes to the left. 

35. The player on the dealer's right cuts the 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 125 



pack, and, in dividing it, must not leave fewer 
than four cards in either packet ; if in cutting, or 
in replacing one of the two packets on the other, 
a card be exposed, or if there be any confusion 
of the cards, or a doubt as to the exact place in 
which the pack was divided, there must be a 
fresh cut. 

36. When a player, whose duty it is to cut, has 
once separated the pack, he cannot alter his inten- 
tion ; he can neither re-shuffle nor re-cut the cards. 

37. When the pack is cut, should the dealer 
shuffle the cards, the pack must be cut again. 

38. The fifty-two cards shall be dealt face down- 
wards. The deal is not completed until the last 
card has been dealt face downwards. 

A NEW DEAL 

39. There must be a new deal — 

I. If, during a deal, or during the play of a 
hand, the pack be proved to be incorrect 
or imperfect. 

II. If any card be faced in the pack. 



126 



MODERN bridge 



III. Unless the cards are dealt into four packets, 

one at a time and in regular rotation, 
beginning at the player to the dealer's 
left. 

IV. Should the last card not come in its regular 

order to the dealer. 

V. Should a player have more than thirteen 
cards, and any one or more of the others 
less than thirteen cards. 

VI. Should the dealer deal two cards at once, 
or two cards to the same hand, and then 
deal a third ; but if, prior to dealing that 
card, the dealer can, by altering the po- 
sition of one card only, rectify such 
error, he may do so. 

VII. Should the dealer omit to have the pack cut 
to him, and the adversaries discover the 
error prior to the last card being dealt, 
and before looking at their cards ; but 
not after having done so. 

40. If, whilst dealing, a card be exposed by 
either of the dealer's adversaries, the dealer may 
claim a new deal. A card similarly exposed by 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 



127 



the dealer or his partner gives the same claim to 
each adversary. The claim may not be made by 
a player who has looked at any of his cards. If 
a new deal does not take place, the exposed card 
cannot be called. 

41. If, in dealing, one of the last cards be ex- 
posed, and the dealer completes the deal before 
there is reasonable time for his adversaries to 
decide as to a fresh deal, they do not thereby 
lose their privilege. 

42. If a player, before he has dealt fifty-one 
cards, look at any card, his adversaries have a 
right to see it, and may exact a new deal. 

43. If a player take into the hand dealt to him 
a card belonging to the other pack, the adver- 
saries, on discovery of the error, may decide 
whether they will have a fresh deal or not. 

44. Should three players have their right num- 
ber of cards — the fourth have less than thirteen, 
and not discover such deficiency until he has 
played any of his cards, the deal stands good ; 
should he have played, he is as answerable for 



128 



MODERN BRIDGE 



any revoke he may have made as if the missing 
card, or cards, had been in his hand; he may 
search the other pack for it, or them. 

45. If a pack, during or after a rubber, be 
proved incorrect or imperfect, such proof does 
not alter any past score, game, or rubber ; that 
hand in which the imperfection was detected is 
null and void ; the dealer deals again. 

46. Any one dealing out of turn, or with the 
adversary's cards, may be stopped before the 
last card is dealt, after which the game must 
proceed as if no mistake had been made. 

47. A player can neither shuffle, cut, nor deal 
for his partner without the permission of his 
opponents. 

DECLAEING TEUMPS 

48. The dealer, having examined his hand, has 
the option of declaring what suit shall be trumps, 
or whether the hand shall be played without 
trumps. If he exercise that option he shall do 
so by naming the suit, or by saying ' No trumps.' 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 



129 



49. If the dealer does not wish to exercise his 
option, he may pass it to his partner by saying 
" I leave it to you, Partner," and his partner 
must thereupon make the necessary declaration, 
in the manner provided in the preceding law. 

50. If the dealer's partner make the declaration 
out of his turn, either of the adversaries has the 
right, after looking at his hand, but before any 
declaration is made as to doubling or not doubling, 
to claim a fresh deal. He may not consult with 
his partner as to whether this penalty should be 
exacted or not. If any declaration as to doubling 
or not doubling shall have been made, or if no 
new deal is claimed, the declaration so wrongly 
made by the dealer's partner stands good. 

51. If either of the dealer's adversaries makes 
the declaration, the dealer may, after looking at 
his hand, either claim a fresh deal or proceed as 
if no such declaration had been made. 

52. A declaration once made cannot be altered, 
save as provided above. 



130 



MODERN BRIDGE 



DOUBLING AND EE-DOUBLING 

53. The effect of doubling and re-doubling, and 
so on, is that the value of each trick above six is 
doubled, quadrupled, and so on. 

54. After the trump declaration has been made 
by the dealer or his partner, their adversaries 
have the right to double. The dealer's left-hand 
adversary has the first right. If he does not 
wish to double he shall say to his partner " May 
I play?" His partner shall answer "Yes," or "I 
double." 

55. If either of their adversaries elect to double, 
the dealer and his partner have the right to re- 
double. The player who has made the trump 
declaration has the first right of re-doubling. 
The question " May I play ? " shall be addressed 
by the dealer's left-hand adversary (after a doubling 
by him or his partner) to the player who has 
made the trump declaration, who shall answer 
" I am satisfied," or " I re-double." If he answer 
" I am satisfied," the question shall then be ad- 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 131 



dressed to his partner, who shall answer "Yes" 
or " I re-double." 

56. If the dealer or his partner elect to re-double, 
their adversaries have the right of re-doubling 
again. The original doubler has the first right. 
The process of re-doubling may be continued in- 
definitely, the first right to continue the re- 
doubling on behalf of a partnership being in that 
partner who last re-doubled on behalf of that 
partnership. When he expresses himself satisfied, 
the right to continue the re-doubling passes to his 
partner. 

57. When the question " May I play ? " has been 
finally answered in the affirmative, or when the 
dealer's left-hand adversary, being the last person 
who has the right to continue the re-doubling, 
expresses himself satisfied, the dealer's left-hand 
adversary shall lead a card. 

58. A declaration once made cannot be altered. 



132 



MODERN BRIDGE 



DUMMY 

59. As soon as a card is led, the dealer's partner 
shall place his cards face upwards on the table, 
and the duty of playing the cards from that hand, 
which is called Dummy, and of claiming and en- 
forcing any penalties arising during the hand, 
shall devolve upon the dealer, unassisted by his 
partner. 

60. After exposing Dummy, the dealer's partner 
may indicate to the dealer the hand from which 
the dealer has to lead, or, if the latter has led from 
the wrong hand, may draw attention to the error, 
in which case the dealer must lead from the right 
hand, unless the second hand has played, when 
the dealer is not entitled to rectify the error ; but 
the dealer's partner may take no other part in the 
play of the hand, other than the mechanical part 
of playing from Dummy any card named by the 
dealer. 

61. The dealer's partner may ask if he (the 
dealer) has a card of the suit which he may have 



THE LAWS OF BKIDGE 133 



renounced ; but if he call attention to any other 
incident in the play of the hand, in respect of 
which any penalty might be exacted, the fact that 
he has done so shall deprive the dealer of the 
right of exacting such penalty against his 
adversaries. 

62. If the dealer's partner, by touching a card, 
or otherwise, suggest the play of a card from 
Dummy, either of the adversaries may, but 
without consulting with his partner, call upon 
the dealer to play or not to play the card 
suggested. 

63. When the dealer draws a card, either from 
his own hand or from Dummy, such card is not 
considered as played until actually quitted. 

64. A card once played or named by the dealer 
as to be played from his own hand or from 
Dummy cannot be taken back, except to save a 
revoke, or as provided by Law 60. 

65. The dealer's partner may not look over 
his adversaries' hands, nor leave his seat for the 
purpose of watching his partner's play. 



134 



MODERN BRIDGE 



66. Dummy is not liable to any penalty for a 
revoke, as his adversaries see his cards. Should 
he revoke and the error not be discovered until 
the trick is turned and quitted, the trick stands 
good. 

67. Dummy being blind and deaf, his partner is 
not liable to any penalty for an error whence he 
can gain no advantage. Thus, he may expose 
some, or all of his cards, or may declare that he 
has the game, or trick, etc., without incurring any 
penalty ; but, having played a card from his own 
hand, he may not recall that card except to save 
a revoke. 

EXPOSED CAEDS 

68. If, after the deal has been completed, and 
before the trump declaration has been made, either 
the dealer or his partner expose a card from his 
hand, either of the adversaries may, without con- 
sultation with his partner, claim a new deal. 

69. If after the deal has been completed, and 
before a card is led, any player shall expose a 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 135 



card, his partner shall forfeit any right to double 
or re-double which he would otherwise have been 
entitled to exercise; and in the case of a card 
being so exposed by the leader's partner, the 
dealer may, instead of calling the card, require 
the leader not to lead the suit of the exposed 
card. 

CAEDS LIABLE TO BE CALLED 

70. All cards exposed by the dealer's adver- 
saries are liable to be called, and must be left 
face upwards on the table ; but a card is not an 
exposed card when dropped on the floor, or else- 
where below the table. 

71. The following are exposed cards : — 
I. Two or more cards played at once. 

II. Any card dropped with its face upwards, 
or in any way exposed on or above the 
table, even though snatched up so quickly 
that no one can name it. 

72. If either of the dealer's adversaries play to 
an imperfect trick the best card on the table, or 



136 



MODERN BRIDGE 



lead one which is a winning card as against the 
dealer and his partner, and then lead again, 
without waiting for his partner to play, or play 
several such winning cards, one after the other, 
without waiting for his partner to play, the latter 
may be called on to win, if he can, the first or 
any other of those tricks, and the other cards 
thus improperly played are exposed cards. 

73. If either of the dealer's adversaries throw 
his cards on the table face upwards, such cards 
are exposed, and liable to be called by the dealer. 

74. If all the players throw their cards on the 
table face upwards, the hands are abandoned ; and 
the score must be left as claimed and admitted. 
The hands may be examined for the purpose of 
establishing a revoke, but for no other purpose. 

75. A card detached from the rest of the hand 
of either of the dealer's adversaries, so as to be 
named, is liable to be called; but should the 
dealer name a wrong card, he is liable to have a 
suit called when first he or his partner have the 
lead. 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 



137 



76. If either of the dealer's adversaries, who has 
rendered himself liable to have the highest or 
lowest of a suit called, or to win or not to win a 
trick, fail to play as desired, though able to do so, 
or if when called on to lead one suit, lead another, 
having in his hand one or more cards of that 
suit demanded, he incurs the penalty of a revoke. 

77. If either of the dealer's adversaries lead 
out of turn, the dealer may call a suit from him 
or his partner when it is next the turn of either 
of them to lead, or may call the card erroneously 
led. 

78. If the dealer lead out of turn, either from 
his own hand or from Dummy, he incurs no 
penalty. 

79. If any player lead out of turn, and the 
other three have followed him, the trick is com- 
plete, and the error cannot be rectified ; but if 
only the second, or the second and third, have 
played to the false lead, their cards, on discovery 
of the mistake, are (subject to Eule 60) taken 
back; and there is no penalty against any one, 



138 



MODERN BRIDGE 



excepting the original offender, and then only 
when he is one of the dealer's adversaries. 

80. In no ease can a player be compelled to 
play a card which would oblige him to revoke. 

81. The call of a card may be repeated until 
such card has been played. 

82. If a player called on to lead a suit have 
none of it, the penalty is paid. 

CAEDS PLAYED IN EEEOE, OE NOT 
PLAYED TO A TEICK 

83. Should the third hand not have played, 
and the fourth play before his partner, the latter 
(not being Dummy or his partner) may be called 
on to win, or not to win, the trick. 

84. If any one (not being Dummy) omit play- 
ing to a former trick, and such error be not dis- 
covered until he has played to the next, the 
adversaries may claim a new deal; should they 
decide that the deal stand good, or should 
Dummy have omitted to play to a former trick, 



THE LAWS OF BKIDGE 139 



and such error be not discovered till he shall have 
played to the next, the surplus card at the end of 
the hand is considered to have been played to the 
imperfect trick, but does not constitute a revoke 
therein. 

85. If any one play two cards to the same 
trick, or mix a card with a trick to which it does 
not properly belong, and the mistake be not dis- 
covered until the hand is played out, he (not 
being Dummy) is answerable for all consequent 
revokes he may have made. If, during the play 
of the hand, the error be detected, the tricks may 
be counted face downwards, in order to ascertain 
whether there be among them a card too many : 
should this be the case they may be searched, and 
the card restored ; the player (not being Dummy) 
is however, liable for all revokes which he may 
have meanwhile made. 



140 MODERN BRIDGE 

THE KEVOKE 

86. Is when a player (other than Dummy), 
holding one or more cards of the suit led, plays 
a card of a different suit. 

87. The penalty for a revoke — 

I. Is at the option of the adversaries, who at 
the end of the hand may, after consul- 
tation, either take three tricks from the 
revoking player and add them to their 
own — or deduct the value of three tricks 
from his score — or add the value of 
three tricks to their own score ; 

II. Can be claimed for as many revokes as 
occur during the hand ; 

III. Is applicable only to the score of the hand 

in which it occurs ; 

IV. Cannot be divided — i. e., a player cannot 

add the value of one or two tricks to his 
own score and deduct the value of one or 
two from the revoking player. 

V. In whatever way the penalty may be en- 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 141 



forced, under no circumstances can the 
side revoking score Game, Grand Slam 
or Little Slam, that hand. Whatever 
their previous score may be, the side 
revoking cannot attain a higher score 
towards the game than 28. 

88. A revoke is established if the trick in 
which it occur be turned and quitted — i. e., the 
hand removed from that trick after it has been 
turned face downwards on the table — or if either 
the revoking player or his partner, whether in 
his right turn or otherwise, lead or play to the 
following trick. 

89. A player may ask his partner whether he 
has not a card of the suit which he has re- 
nounced; should the question be asked before 
the trick is turned and quitted, subsequent turn- 
ing and quitting does not establish the revoke, 
and the error may be corrected, unless the ques- 
tion be answered in the negative, or unless the 
revoking player or his partner have led or played 
to the following trick. 



142 



MODERN BRIDGE 



90. At the end of the hand, the claimants of a 
revoke may search all the tricks. 

91. If a player discover his mistake in time to 
save a revoke, any player or players who have 
played after him may withdraw their cards and 
substitute others, and their cards withdrawn are 
not liable to be called. If the player in fault be 
one of the dealer's adversaries, the dealer may call 
the card thus played in error, or may require him 
to play his highest or lowest card to that trick in 
which he has renounced. 

92. If a revoke be claimed, and the accused 
player or his partner mix the cards before they 
have been sufficiently examined by the adversaries, 
the revoke is established. The mixing of the 
cards only renders the proof of a revoke difficult, 
but does not prevent the claim, and possible 
establishment, of the penalty. 

93. A revoke cannot be claimed after the cards 
have been cut for the following deal. 

94. If a revoke occur, be claimed and proved, 
bets on the odd trick, or on amount of score, must 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 143 



be decided by the actual state of the score after 
the penalty is paid. 

95. Should the players on both sides subject 
themselves to the penalty of one or more revokes, 
neither can win the game by that hand ; each is 
punished at the discretion of his adversary. 

CALLING FOE NEW CARDS 

96. Any player (on paying for them) before, 
but not after, the pack be cut for the deal, may 
call for fresh cards. He must call for two new 
packs, of which the dealer takes his choice. 

GENERAL RULES 

97. Any one during the play of a trick, or 
after the four cards are played, and before, but 
not after, they are touched for the purpose of 
gathering them together, may demand that the 
cards be placed before their respective players. 



144 



MODERN BRIDGE 



98. If either of the dealers adversaries, prior 
to his partner playing, should call attention to 
the trick — either by saying that it is his, or by 
naming his card, or, without being required so to 
do, by drawing it towards him — the dealer may 
require that opponent's partner to play his highest 
or lowest of the suit then led, or to win or lose 
the trick. 

99. In all cases where a penalty has been 
incurred, the offender is bound to give reasonable 
time for the decision of his adversaries. 

100. If a bystander make any remark which 
calls the attention of a player or players to an 
oversight affecting the score, he is liable to be 
called on, by the players only, to pay the stakes 
and all bets on that game or rubber. 

101. A bystander, by agreement among the 
players, may decide any question. 

102. A card or cards torn or marked must be 
either replaced by agreement, or new cards called 
at the expense of the table. 

103. Any player may demand to see the last 



THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 145 



trick turned, and no more. Under no circum- 
stances can more than eight cards be seen during 
the play of the hand — viz., the four cards on the 
table which have not been turned and quitted, 
and the last trick turned. 



10 



INDEX 



INDEX 

Page 

Advantage of Leading a ' Short Suit,' The 48 

Calling for Trumps 67 

Chicane 4 

Club Declaration, The 30 

Dealer's Play 100 

Declaration, The 15 

Description of the Game 1 

Diamond Declaration, The 27 

Disadvantage of the ' Short Suit ' Lead, The 48 

Discarding 64, 97 

Double Dummy Bridge 115 

Doubling 35, 71 

Doubling and Re-doubling 3 

Dummy Bridge Ill 

Etiquette of Bridge 12 

Finessing by Dealer 69 

Forcing 66 

Fourteen Rule, The 63, 87 

Grand Slam 5 

Heart Declaration, The 21 

Hints 104 

Honours 4 

Holding up the Master Card, Example of ...... 77 

Introduction vii 

Lead and Doubling, The 3 

Lead and Return of the Lead Generally, The 56 



150 



INDEX 



PA.GE 

Leading a Trump through the Declaring Hand .... 51 

Leading from Strength Although Weak in Trumps ... 49 

Lead of the Fourth-best, The 62, 86 

Leads from High Card Sequences not Headed by Ace . . 83 

Little Slam 5 

No-Trumps Declaration, The . . 16 

No-Trumps Game, The 71 

Original Lead, The 38, 76 

Playing False Cards 66 

Playing to the Score 15 

Play Third in Hand by Original Leader's Partner .... 61 

Points 11 

Re-entry 70 

Returning the Lead 95 

Return of the Original Lead 54 

Scoring 5 

Scoring Sheet, Example of 7 

Scoring Sheet, Explanation of 8 

Showing Four of your Partner's Suit 98 

Showing your Suit in Discarding it 98 

Spade Declaration, The 31 

Table of No-Trumps Leads from Ace 83 

Table of No-Trumps Leads from High Card Sequences not 

Headed by Ace 86 

Table of Leads from High Card Sequences 57 

Table of Leads from Suits Headed by High Cards not in 

Sequence 57 

Table of Scores 6 

Trump-Suit Game, The 35 

Unblocking 92 

Underplay, Example of 101 

When Holding Strength in Trumps 52 



INDEX 151 

THE LAWS OF BRIDGE 

Page 

Cards Liable to be Called 135 

Cards Played in Error or not Played to a Trick . . . . 138 

Cutting. 120 

Cutting Out 122 

Deal, The . 124 

Declaring Trumps 128 

Doubling and Re-doubling 130 

Dummy 132 

Entry and Re-entry 122 

Exposed Cards 134 

General Rules . 143 

New Cards, Calling for 143 

New Deal, A 125 

Revoke, The 140 

Rubber, The 116 

Scoring 116 

Shuffling 123 

Table, Formation of ... 121 



JUN 13 1901 



